Jen & The Greyhounds

We're Moving... Virtually, this time :o)

2010-07-09T09:50:00.000-04:00

We're moving! I've wanted to have my blog as a page on my website for a LONG TIME now... and finally it's come to fruition. This will be my last Blogspot/Blogger post, but don't leave me! lol. I'm now at this address: http://jenniferzalewski.com/blog/blog.

Please change your bookmarks/reader address and follow me at my new virtual digs- I have new pics of the pups and gardens up, and will be posting photos from our recent camping trip to the mountains. The art studio is almost up and running, and I'm sketching out a new linocut. Lots of exciting stuff... don't miss it! :o)

See you soon!
-Jen (and Cliff & Jack too, of course)

Our New Home!

2010-07-01T08:44:00.000-04:00

I had a dream the other night about my first blog post after moving into the new house. It was a slow-motion video of me and the dogs running through the backyard, to the music of Barry Manilow, "Looks like we made it." DON'T WORRY, I'm corny but not THAT corny. I have no idea where that dream came from, so weird lol.

Anyway, without further ado... some pics from our new place! These were from Day 2, so nothing was unpacked yet... and while I'm 80% unpacked at this point, the place still looks like a disaster. :oP I hope I never move again... ugh.. so stressful!

We'll start with the bedroom. It's rather boring. It DOES have a walk-in closet and attached laundry room, though. I already re-arranged the furniture. Think I'm going to repaint the walls purple. Furniture is mish-mash at this point.

This is the living room, or what the previous owner called "The Adirondack Room." It does have a distinct AKD feel, with the laid wooden walls, ceiling and ceiling fan. I'm kind of baffled about how I'll lay this room out...it needs help of some sort!

This is the main room, a living/dining combo (or "Great Room" as they call it)... it is going to be my art studio. Aren't the windows fab?? The red wall to the back left is the brick chimney. The door goes into the bedroom. There is a hallway off the left that goes to the front door and bathroom.

Studio from the other direction, looking towards the Adirondack room. The little kitchen is off to the right (you can see a bit of the cabinets there)...

Another view of the studio from the loft (yay! I have a loft!). It's billed as a second bedroom, but I'm going to use it for my paper storage, drying racks etc.

A view of the backyard from the northwest corner...

The boys exploring the backyard on Day 2- 1/2 acre surrounded by privacy fencing! They LOVE the house. Jack magically bumped back to his old self... no more cowering, no more refusing to come inside (although he's still paranoid about flies lol). I don't know what it was about the boondocks house we stayed at... maybe because it was empty and echoe-y? Made him nervous? I'm SO glad he's comfy again. Cliff, of course, is always happy! :o) No worries about that boy.

Cliff exploring the flower gardens on the west side of the house. I'm not sure what is weed and what's flower at this point... I'll probably wait through the summer and see what blooms before I start yanking things out...

This is a little fenced-off garden paddock off the back of the house... really cute...

Another photo of the boys in the backyard, with the garden paddock to the right. That's O-Hill in the background.

Closing off with a house sparrow... we have several that have been visiting our feeder. Cute fellas!

We are still in a state of chaos, but at least semi-settled. The new fridge arrived, sattelite TV installed (I've always had cable so it's taking an adjustment - and this DVR thing? I don't get it!)--I found a great, affordable contractor who installed the dog door; our internet and phone are turning on next week (I'm posting this remotely, NO fun!).

Living on a busy main road, and on the "south tail of the 'hood", has been... different. I'm absolutely paranoid about the dogs getting out, and hit by a car. I've installed latches and paddlocks on the yard gates (all by myself, so proud lol); I wanted to install springs on the doors too, so they snap shut whenever you let them go, but couldn't figure it out (any tips?). A babygate has been installed in front of the front door, so there is no chance of bolting. I'm very watchful on our walks for loose pits but so far have only been charged by a loose chihuahua (thankfully Jack didn't eat it). We've met a lot of friendly people who are fascinated with the boys- and living in a diverse neighborhood again is fantastic. It reminds me of my time living in Queens. So far we are having a great time... will post more photos soon!

Jen

And the Beat Goes On...

2010-06-18T13:53:00.000-04:00

Quick lunchtime blog post:

The Kodak Easyshare Z981 Camera: It arrived. I tried. I disliked. I mean, the color and zoom are great, but SUCKS with action shots. I boxed it up, sent it back, and ordered a Canon SX20. God Help Me, this camera better be awesome because buying a satisfactory camera has turned out to be more stressful than buying a house.
Gorilla-brand Duct Tape: It may advertise that it's better than regular duct tape and has better stickyness, but it's not. I know it's not an advertised "use", but it won't stick to the bottom of Cliff's paws. To cover/smother his corn. Shouldn't duct tape be usesful for EVERYTHING? It's so disappointing when it's not.
Jack: Poor Jack. He's having a horrible time adjusting to the new temporary house. He's become a totally different dog than a month ago- he's scared to come inside, refuses to come near me, shies away from me, phobic of flies (!!), very uneasy in the new surroundings, won't settle, lays at the door constantly, waiting to "go home". Our home we don't have anymore. I feel so badly for him. It's difficult to even think about this. Ugh.
GroundHog: The one good thing that happened to Jack since we moved to the country: He almost nailed a groundhog last night. I would have felt bad but it was so nice seeing him happy and excited again!
Getting Old: It's SO depressing to hear "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi and "Janie's Got a Gun" by Aerosmith on the Oldie's channel. I mean, seriously? :oP
Art: Experimenting with monotypes. Have a new linocut that I really liked, but kind of muffed up at the end- need to try to fix it this weekend between tending to the boys and my 15th high school reunion tomorrow, talk about oldies, holy crap-!
OUR NEW HOUSE! We have a closing date! Friday the 25th! I'm sooooo happy. But now I'm kind of nervous because --what if Jack hates the new place like he hates our interim housing?? What do I do? We can't move back to our old place, it's done and gone. Closed on. Sold.

We Survived...

2010-06-09T14:18:00.000-04:00

...We survived our temporary move to the boonies. Barely, LOL. Jack had a very difficult time the first 48 hours, but made it. And Cliff seems to have strained himself a bit with getting in/out of the car the few times- he's been extra-gimpy. He's getting TLC.

I received my Olympus SP-800UZ digital camera in the mail, but am returning it. The panoramic zoom is fantastic and color really good, but the lag time between clicks is horrible, even on the continuous-shoot action mode. The boys were romping around the yard but all I got was one photo (because the screen blacks out for several seconds between shooting, the shows you the photo for a couple seconds, and by the time you can take a picture again... the action is over). I guess this is the type of camera to get for still-life and landscape shots... not running greyhounds and birding! On another note, I was also suprised that I missed the Viewfinder hole... you had to find your subject and focus on it solely using the LCD screen. That's great, but when I zoomed in on a young finch in the sycamore, took a photo (and it blacked out, then showed me the picture, then went back to ready-to-shoot mode)... by then, my hands had shook a bit and I couldn't find the bird on the LCD screen... so I had to back out of the zoom, find it in the branches, and zoom in again. I always despised the viewfinder hole because it left smudges on my glasses when I pressed up against it... but maybe they aren't such bad things after all?

I exchanged it for a Kodak EasyShare Z981. I really hope it gives me what I want! I suppose I couldn't return this since I already returned something, right? They would probably think I was scamming them or something. I'm not sure about Kodak quality or reputation when it comes to DIGITAL cameras, so I hope it's okay. I've always had Canons myself but the best point-and-shoot Canon had only 20x zoom (which is still equivalent to a manual 560 mm telephoto, so nothing to disparage, but why get 20x when I could get 26x or 30x?)?

Last night I set up my temporary art studio in the empty dining room. I have a folding table for my carving and sketching, and then my printing table to hold my bottlejack press and inking plate. I've done some life sketching of the boys (drawing them from life, not photos) which has been FUN... I haven't done that in about a year. Jack's oddly-shaped roman nose is hard to get- but I've mastered Cliff. :)

Next to our temporary housing is a hobby-farm. They have a young Komondor, which is interesting because they are SUCH rare and unusual dogs. I've never been a huge fan of mops, but she is so striking (even without dreadlocks yet), I can't help but stare at her. The first time she charged us while we were walking, I yelled at her to back-off and shook my poop bag at her. The second time she saw us coming down the street, she turned tail and ran like hell towards the back of the farm, LOL. They are supposed to be pretty fearless livestock guardians, so I'm surprised she was so upset to see us (unless she telepathically knew that I was training for my Tae Kwon Do yellow belt?? LOL). Speaking of which, is SO MUCH FUN. I mean... it's a workout... but it's a fun workout, much more satisfying that sitting on a stationary bike or treadmill.

Well, this post has bored me to tears, I can't imagine how anyone else feels. Hopefully next time I'll have some photos, which I can put on a CD at home, then bring to work and post on my blog during lunch hour.

Jen

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love Ya Tomorrow--!!

2010-06-04T14:32:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I score my U-Haul, pack it to the gills, and begin a month of Bohemian living with no TV, no internet (I do have access at work, so I'll pop in during lunch hour, I promise) and a laughable pay-per-minute dinosaur cell phone. All in the lovely country splendor of the Cayuga Co boodocks. Fun stuff.

The greyhounds are very anxious. This last week of packing has made them very clingy (that is, until Jack sees a squirrel out the window, flies through the dog door in pursuit, with Cliff scrambling after him to keep up. Or until Jack has decided, 'hmm, it's been 3.2 minutes since my last meal, let's go outside and raid the strawberry garden, shall we?' Again, with Clifford tagging along like a befuddled and curious puppy-'What is he doing? Why is he doing that??').

In case the move tomorrow does me in, I will leave you with a few tidbits:

The house I bought? That I'm moving into at the end of July? It's a few blocks away from this Thursday occurance. LOL. Now I knew I'd see a lot of "wild- life" in the city, but not REAL wildlife!!

20 Ways to Reduce Your Dependency on Oil <--- Necessary reading for every American, especially in light of the BP spill! We are oil pigs and need to reduce, reduce, reduce. Let's try.

Learning to Tell Your Story as an Artist/Craftsperson. Luann Udell has the most thought-provoking, wonderful blog on being a creative person. Check it out and bookmark it!!

Can I get a dog that lives to 17? PLEASE???*

And I think I've decided on my next camera: An Olympus sp800-UZ. It's a nice hybrid of DSLR and point-and-shoot. Check out the zoon on that baby!!!!

Lunch break is over, so back to work. Happy Friday everyone!!

Jen

*My Rudy lived to 16, but that's still not as good as 17. I WANT 17!!!! Or 18. Or 19. Or...

Holy Schmokes! Today is....

2010-06-02T20:28:00.001-04:00

... CLIFFORD'S TWELFTH BIRTHDAY!

Hard to believe, I know. He's a bit slower, a bit spacier (B&T- no laughing!!), but still my joyful, happy guy. Hope you enjoy the video*, since my cameras are still in NYC. :)

Jen

*Somewhere in there I say Jack is picky, and I have no idea why I said that. I mean- the dog would eat rocks if I put them in his bowl. I THINK I meant to say that I add a lot of water to his soup to fill him up more without adding the calories. Who knows, lol.

Art Update

2010-05-27T13:25:00.001-04:00

Just a quick update during my lunch break.

North Viele Pasture, one of my woodcuts, made it into "A Celebration of Block Prints" Etsy Treasury. Yeah, thank you Milatropolis!

Three of my linocuts (White-Breasted Nuthatch, Stripes, and 'Watch'Dog) were all accepted into a staff and faculty art show here at the University where I work. To cap it off, White-Breasted Nuthatch was chosen to be shown at the Everson Museum of Art this fall. A real museum- holy cow! So excited I could pee my pants-!!!

No other news. I'm pretty much done with packing all non-essential stuff in my house. ~~Two more weeks~~ One more week before we move to interim housing in the Boondocks. My cameras are still in NYC being evaluated. My art supplies are all boxed up. My books are all sequestered away in storage. Ick!! It feels really crappy being in an "in-between" transitional stage, but I started a Tae Kwon Do class which is great at relieving the stress and frustration of it all. And the boys, Cliff and Jack, have been great. Jack DID break into one of my moving boxes, pulled out all of my large tabletop candles (I have them for cases when the electricity goes down) and eat them. All of them. Sigh. They were scented, so he probably thought they were food.... I guess?? Ugh. Oh well. Other than that "mishap", packing has been seamless.

I have some great plans for June, while living TV-less and internet-less in an empty house in the Boondocks: work on some linocuts. Experiment with Monotypes (Monoprints). Work on the sketchbook. There will be no distractions other than my two pups and some rednecks living next door. Woot, woot!

That's it for now, I guess. Happy Thursday to everyone-

Jen

Studio Daydreaming....

2010-05-23T17:49:00.000-04:00

I'm getting ants-in-the-pants crazy waiting to move into my new house. It seems like the end of June will never get here!!! But in the meantime, I'm daydreaming about paint colors, the garden and... of course... my new art studio. I've kind of become obsessed with finding new furniture for it. I don't NEED new furniture... I have a drafting table, and two tables to hold my presses and inking station... but they are kind of old and new furniture seems so exciting. Today I visited Marty's and oggled over the all the unfinished furniture they have; desks, bureaus and hutches (oh, they would be wonderful to hold art stuff!). Some of my ideas:

Wouldn't this be FABULOUS as a new art desk? All the compartments great for holding art supplies, artsy books, etc... YAY! And I could sit anywhere I wanted... each side is accessible and useable... I could work facing the kitchen, the windows looking outside, or facing the living room... ogg. I am in love with this! It's a little more modern than the look I'm going for, but it's just so fabulous, I can't help but drool.

This is another option. More standard desk-looking, and kind of Shaker-ish (not my favorite look) but I like the L-shape. See, my new art studio won't have any "walls", really, to butt things up against. One wall is all windows and built-in bookshelves, and the other "wall" is the kitchen area and hallway to the front door. So all my furniture will need to sit in the middle of the room? If that explanation makes sense?

I love Flickr, too. The photo site (the bird too, lol). I've found some great groups that are all about sharing photos of peoples' art and craft studios. Check out Etsy Member Studios, and then Art Studios. It's SO inspiring to see where people make art - some folks have their own gorgeous outbuildings, and others just a corner of the dining room table... but they make it work!! I love looking at their tables, their storage units... everything. It gives me so many cool ideas.

Speaking of art, I am working on a new linocut which is a bit stressful because of the packing and general disarray. I haven't gotten far, just putting the image on the block, but it's moving along. I'd post photos BUT I can't... I have packed up my 2 digital cameras and my old film camera and sent them to NYC to be traded in for a new Canon Powershot SX20. No reason to have 3 cameras laying around... I really only need one, right?

Countdown to moving to our interim housing in The Boondocks. Three, two...

Ballfield Playdate

2010-05-16T15:40:00.000-04:00

Spent the night at Mom and Dad's. They have some great fenced ballfields near their new house so this morning I took Jack, Cliff and their youngest pug Amos (Cliff's BFF) over to run around a bit. Some fun pics:

Amos tries to keep up with the big dogs, LOL...

The ol' man can still run! ...

Even after his Big Saturday in the Adirondacks, Jack had a ton of energy to zoom around the field a few times...

Handsome Amos...

I am very impressed by Cliff's progress. Getting him back on Glucosamine & MSM and occassional Gabapetin have been miraculous. I noticed his corn came back, so we've been hulling it out and doing the old duct-tape treatment again, too. I wonder if his bad limping a month or so back was a result of the corn growing up, unseen, under the surface of the pad? Dunno. You can tell he's much more comfy walking on soft surfaces like dirt and grass, compared to road and sidewalk.

Look at his smile!!...

... the boys...

Now that our fun vacation weekend is over, it's back to packing-!

Jen

Brandy Lake Hike

2010-05-16T15:19:00.000-04:00

I've never stopped at the Brandy Lake trailhead, although I pass it every time I take Rt. 28 into the mountains. After hiking Rondaxe (Bald Mt) and then window shopping in Old Forge, I thought... "What the heck? I still have some pep, and Jack is young and frisky. We have a few hours to kill before dusk... let's explore!" I probably wouldn't have acted on this if I knew the trail was a round trip of 6 miles!! Alas, it didn't look that long on my map... [famous last words].

I've never seen any cars at the Brandy Lake trailhead, and we were the only ones there this day as well (yay). The trail was fairly gentle, with a couple easy hills. Three miles in, three miles out.

LOTS of mushrooms/fungus around. I need to get a guide.

The first Jack-in-the-Pulpit I've seen this year (at least, I think that's what it is. I'd check my ADK flora book, but it's already packed in a box somewhere!)...

Brandy Lake was serene and beautiful. Unfortunately my camera has too-big a lens to capture anything but *part* of the shore...

Jack in the Witch Hopple... I love that stuff. It grows around waterways, lakes and rivers. It rolls off the tongue so nicely too. "Witch Hopple." :o)

I was SO psyched to find some Marsh Marigolds!!! They are my favorite wild flower, and I've only ever seen them south of Ithaca, near Danby State Forest. It was exciting to find these...

Beautiful patterns in the water along Brandy Lake...

After Rondaxe (about 2 miles), Old Forge and then 6 miles at Brandy Lake... we were pooped!! Cold and sometimes cloudy, but it ended up being a nice day.

Jen

Jack's New Friend

2010-05-16T14:50:00.001-04:00

After climbing Rondaxe Mt., Dad met us for a lunchtime snack in Old Forge. Across the street was this huge stuffed-animal raccoon that Jack LOVED. He charged up to it, wagging his tail like crazy and sniffing the 'coon's shirt excitedly. It was so hysterical... we decided to pose for a picture with Jack's new "friend" LOL. Dad took the pic- thanks, Dad.

Rondaxe Mountain

2010-05-16T14:43:00.000-04:00

This weekend I decided to head up to Old Forge for Paddlefest 2010, in hopes of trying out some solo canoes, attending some seminars, and doing some hiking. *Sigh*, typical me... I got the date wrong... Paddlefest is NEXT weekend. Ooops. Oh well... I got to see my parents (who babysat Cliffie for the day) and visit the North Country, at least. :oP First trip to the mountains this season, yippee!

First stop (after figuring out my Paddlefest Date Blunder) was hiking up Rondaxe (Bald) Mountain, just north of Old Forge. I've gone up to the Adirondacks for years, but never had much interest in climbing. I prefer more secluded and scenic hikes, around ponds and especially bogs (plus, the mountain paths are always crowded- the lake, pond and bog hikes aren't). And with Lucy and Clifford- well, the past several years they've been slowing down and strenuous hiking just wasn't in the bag. Today, I decided to try climbing a mountain with Jackie-Pants. He's young, he's strong, and I need to sweat off a few (well, more than a few) pounds of winter weight. Jack could lose a pound or two as well (a woman at the Old Forge Hardware store was kind enough to comment, "Well, he's certainly stocky for a greyhound, isn't he?" Um, thanks.). He's not THAT bad, and gets walked twice a day, but *sigh*, he's an eater. That's a good thing and a bad thing!

The mountains in the Old Forge area are certainly nothing like the High Peaks region, so Rondaxe/Bald Mountain would be a nice starting point for us- I could test our endurance, see how Jack handled the ascent, etc. I was a bit ruffled pulling into the trailhead area- it was packed with cars- not my ideal-! But I have to say, for most of the ascent we were alone which was really nice.

Up....

...and up...

...nope, still not the summit...

...up, up, up-!

...almost there-!...

...The Summit! Finally!

It was really a beautiful hike, just under a mile each way. And can I just say? Hiking with a young dog is DIFFERENT. At first I was really paranoid as the trail went up rooted, steep areas and across huge boulders with NO shoulders to speak of. But Jack's small, tight feet gripped really well and he had no trouble at all scrambling up the steep areas or leaping over logs and huge roots. Towards the summit the trail went over rocky ridges that fell steeply off either side (you can see in a couple of the pics above)... he wasn't fazed at all even though my heart was pounding a mile a minute!!... and was very steady and sure, like a little mountain goat. I wonder if Lucy and Clifford were that agile and brave in their younger days? I don't remember. In 2005 Lucy (then age 8) and Cliff (then age 7) tried to ascend "family-friendly" Baker Mountain in Saranac Lake, and it was a huge Cluster, if you know what I mean! That was the first and last mountain we did together, LOL!

I did find out one thing about Jack's hiking abilities... he has absolutely ZERO navigational skills. I mean that in a trail-sense... I get the feeling he couldn't follow a trail if you paved it in front of him, LOL. Twice on this hike he led us off the main path on smaller side-paths, and I didn't notice until we were really far into the bush and we had to back-track. Cliff is like that too. I tend to think, though, that Clifford just lacks the ability to follow a trail? That he's kind of clueless-? Whereas Jack just doesn't care, LOL.

But that's okay, we all can't be good at everything right?

More pics from the trail:

Packing

2010-05-13T20:25:00.000-04:00

I'm afraid this post won't be terribly interesting! The big news is that my purchase offer was accepted HOURS before the tax credit ended, so we have a house to move into... hooray! Since then, I've been in a cleaning and packing hell. It's really amazing how much STUFF you accumulate over 6 years. Several pieces of furniture that won't be coming with us have been broken down and moved out of the house. Heavy boxes are growing and growing around here. The boys were curious about the activity at first (especially Jack) but they seem fine now. It's driving me insane though... never-ending packing... cleaning... boxes and clutter scattered all over, waiting to be picked through and packed... it's like living in a tornado.

In between my house closing here and closing on the new house, we'll be homeless for about a month. I'll be living in my parent's house, which they've been trying to sell but haven't been as lucky as I was. It's closer to work but in the boondocks. And I won't have TV. Or internet. Or any of my stuff, because it will be in storage. June is going to be a looooonnnng month, lol.

Jen

Etsy Update!

2010-05-01T19:00:00.001-04:00

I've been long overdue to update my Etsy store, but I finally did it. Check it out here!

It's been crazy busy recently, so I haven't gotten to as much artwork as I've liked. I've also postpone a few of my daily after-work doggie walks with Cliff and Jack, which upset the pups a bit. They are so used to routine! But I couldn't help it. I have to say, selling you house- searching for a new one- buying a new one- yeah, it sounds fun. And on some level it is... but other levels it isn't, LOL.

I found a great house for us in the Lincoln Hill neighborhood of Syracuse- close to work, a few houses away from the park, charming 1890 bungalow- and scrambled to put together an offer (another person was supposedly also scrambling on the house). It was accepted, hooray! Did all the paperwork, hooray! Began dreaming about what furniture would go where, hooray! Had the home inspection... and it BOMBED. I mean... asbestos in the basement, illegally installed furnace with no lining/fluting, lead pipes bringing drinking water in the house, the roof was less than a year from needing full replacement, and the kicker... one 10-foot section of foundation along the house had been REMOVED and replaced with a sheet of flipping PLYWOOD. Yeah, that was the only thing holding up that section of the house. How did I miss that on my 2 visits, before putting in the purchase offer?? Anyway, the house was obviously sinking dramatically in that area, and the other side of the house had foundation that needed re-pointing and re-sealing. Wah-wah-wah.

Needless to say, we (well, I) backed out of the offer. I mean... I'm willing to deal with a few issues when I buy a house, but not huge ones like foundations and roofs! Oye vey.

Then the scrambling began. I mean... I'm closing on the sale of my (current) house on/about June 5, thereabouts. I NEED A PLACE TO LIVE! And it's been so hard finding anything affordable on my salary in a safe neighborhood, you know? But I'm really lucky... I happened to come across a beautiful, artsy, REALLY fabulous 1-floor house (with a loft!!) and HALF ACRE backyard, already privacy-fenced and beautifully gardened, right on the edge of the city this week. Put in a purchase offer. The seller then had an emotional breakdown and decided she WASN'T going to sell the house. There was a day where my realtor and this woman's realtor were playing counselor as the woman cried about her house on the phone with them and I sat with pychotic butterflies in my stomach, wondering if she'd sell me the house. The woman inevitably decided to go forward with the sale, but only if I put in a full-price offer so she could pay her bills. I agreed, because the house is UNBELIEVABLE and I wanted it sooo badly. Dad did an inspection and gave it his blessing, but we have a "real" inspector coming Tuesday (Bridget, that's at noon if you want to come?). We even got all the paperwork signed before the 5 pm Tax Credit deadline, so I'm getting a rebate (hooray!).

The house is amazing... windows that go from ceiling to almost-floor, built-in bookshelves all over, a little fireplace, a "Florida" room... SO much light...really awesome. The backyard is to die for. The only downside to the house is that it doesn't have a basement, only has one bedroom (which doesn't matter to me, but I'm sure would turn off a lot of buyers), and is on a main street. But that's okay. The rest makes up for it.

I can't believe it, but it was in the 80's today... insane! This morning was the first GWC walk in quite awhile, newly under the reins of Glen and Kelly S. It was at Onondaga Lake Park, and quite a few folks showed up with their Greyhounds (we also had a Frenchie and doxie mix join in). Even at 10 am, it was sooo humid and oppressive, though. Jackie had a blast but the heat really wiped him out and he slept soundly all afternoon, woot! Make that a double-woot.

So... back to the House. When you're buying and selling, every time the phone rings, your heart jumps in your throat and you feel like spontaneously vomiting all over yourself (at least, that's my experience). Last weekend the phone rang while I was napping and I quickly tried roused myself from deep sleep. After two rings I was sufficiently awake and took off at a dead run through the house, trying to find the phone. I was booking full speed because I was afraid it would be my real estate lady (which it was) and I'd miss something important (which I didn't). While sprinting through the art studio around the corner into the kitchen, I slipped on the floor and fell in a horrendous, horrific BAM. Yeah, did you hear some sort of thunderclap last Saturday, around 2 pm? That was me falling. I twisted my ankle pretty badly and lay there moaning loudly for a few seconds. Then, gathering myself, I clambered to my one good foot and booked to get the phone. Looking back... dang, I fell... the house shook... I lay there wailing in agony... and neither of my dogs even got up from their beds to see what happened! WTH? So much for women's best friend, maybe I SHOULD have gone with diamonds instead lol.

Jen

Stalker.

2010-04-22T20:03:00.001-04:00

The fence along the back border of our yard is a Squirrel Highway. Neighbors on both sides have ever-overflowing bird feeders, so dozens of little fluffy gray vermin make their way along our chain link every day, gorging themselves at one and then traveling to the other. Lucy used to occasionally get excited about them. Cliff has never shown interest. Jack? Well, that lil' pup is a true hunter. When he sees them, the stalking begins.

I know, I know! Amusing, right? It's so funny to watch him try his darndest to catch one, but fail miserably every time.

Well tonight I was poop scooping along the back fence and I found a tail. Um, yeah. A squirrel tail. At first I thought it was Cliff's squirrel toy, but I quickly realized IT WASN'T. IT WAS REAL. I was fascinated and appalled at the same time. I picked it up and saw the bloody stump at the end. Cliff came over, gave it a whiff, and snatched it out of my hands! I had to chase him around the yard to get it back (thankfully, given his disc disease, it was a short chase) and as soon as I got it, Jack grabbed it from me! I tried to yank it back, and we ended up ripping it in half. OMG, it was awful. I threw it over the fence into the neighbor's weeds. What the hell happened? Did Jack actually rip it off some squirrel? Was the squirrel running along the fence, outracing Jack, and got it caught in the chain link and it ripped out that way? There wasn't a body anywhere, soooo...

Oye, oye, oye--!

So much for the cute lil' innocent face. Unless the Spirit of Lucy Past came back, we know who's guilty around here...

Jen

Longest Blog Post Ever.

2010-04-19T22:30:00.000-04:00

I think I’ve finally broken through the Creative Barrier that has been up since Lucy died. I’ve been piddling about with a few linocuts, but at odds and ends, here and there… lots of other things vying for my time. Therefore, this will hereafter become known as THE LONGEST BLOG POST EVER. Seriously. I'll sprinkle it with recent pics, though, so maybe that will make it more interesting?

I accepted an offer on my house, and have been busy house-hunting in Syracuse (which is fun but time-consuming, and houses are being gobbled up so fast due to this gov't rebate!). When my realtor sat down and asked me what I was looking for in a home, I was a bit nervous to tell her that everything I wanted revolved around Clifford and his spinal/neurological problems- one floor living, or at least one bedroom on the first floor so we could live down there; easy access to the backyard with minimal stairs; and a preferably flat backyard so he wouldn’t have to struggle as he got older. You know, some people just aren’t dog people, and give you funny looks for stuff like that?? But I give her credit, she didn’t laugh at all, and took down everything very seriously in her notebook. After Cliff’s considerations, I wanted either a large room for my art studio. Something affordable for one person on an administrative assistant’s salary… modest… but in a safe location. City, country or suburbs, I didn’t care- I’ve lived all 3, and like them all.

I've found the PERFECT house for us, but I learned tonight that someone else has decided it's perfect for them, too. This means that we'll have to start a bidding war I guess, and I really didn't want to pay full price. :o( Sigh, we'll see how it goes...

And on artwork. I’ve been struggling to do a piece in honor of Lucy. I’ve started a few now and just feel… empty… about them. So that’s tabled for now. I don’t know whether it’s because my drawings stink or because the idea of a “memorial piece” makes her death more real so I want to avoid it? I dunno. I’m hoping inspiration will hit at some point.

Sooo… looking for inspiration… I hit the university library (my new job working at a huge university is awesome… the library is 5 floors, truly heaven!). Every lunch hour I went to the printmaking section of the Fine Arts floor (yes… a whole floor for the arts… and almost 20 shelves of printmaking books!!!) and combed through books. There was a huge coffee-table volume on Margaret Preston http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/margaretpreston/) that I was especially drawn to. Her linocuts were bold and striking, and colored so beautifully. And get this… I was flabbergasted to find out they were hand-colored! HAND COLORED! I almost put the book back when I read that, but I’m glad I didn’t.

Hand-coloring a block print is exactly as it sounds… making a one-color linocut (usually in dark ink) and then coloring it in with paint. Many printmakers do this, but for some reason I always thought of it as a second-class technique and therefore avoided it. Shouldn’t a true printmaker color her/his images using multiple blocks or the reduction method, with inks and not paints? Wasn’t hand-coloring bastardizing the traditional printmaking process and shoving it into the murky realm of “mixed media art”??? Blah blah blah… I am a die-hard traditionalist in most areas, I admit (I just –finally- ditched my Record Player last month, don’t laugh) but the more I looked at Margaret Preston’s art and googled other hand-coloring block print artists… the more respect I had for the technique. To tie two different media together is a tricky thing- and as I experimented, I found it wasn’t easy at all! How the heck did they do it?

Last weekend was beautiful and sunny, and I went outside and sketched my forsythia bush which was flowering in all its sunshine-colored glory (spring is truly gorgeous in New York State. The taxes STINK and Albany is a political disaster, but it’s worth living her just for the seasons and nature, truly). I worked right on the block, not on paper first (which is rare for me) but enjoyed the process. It was much more spontaneous drawing directly on the block, and I might try it again in the future? After completing the drawing, I blocked the pencil in with marker and moved to my backyard patio, where I carved in the company of Cliff and Jack.

Then, after I was finished carving, I printed the forsythia image (along with a Loon block that I had laying around), dried them overnight, and then began playing around with hand-coloring. Fun!

I must admit… I have not painted in a LONG TIME. Having a brush in my hand instead of a pencil, pen or chisel was strange and awkward. I found that most “hand-colorers” use watercolor, but I didn’t have any so I used gouche (opaque watercolor) that I had laying around. I used some colors that were pre-mixed and dried on one of my palettes from years ago, so… well, it came out crappy and muddy. The gouche also left a “film” over my black ink, I’m assuming because it’s opaque (duh, Jennifer!). Soooo… I then dug in the cobwebby boxes of my art buffet and came up with some acrylics. Thinned down enough, I thought they may work but found they also left a “film” and dried a bit choppy (maybe that was my uneducated application). So yesterday I went to the store and bought some W & N watercolors (sigh, afterwards I found a perfectly good tin in my art cabinet, lol) and used them. Much better results! I was happy, but the color isn’t bold and strong, like ink… it’s, well, delicate and transparent like watercolor LOL. I don’t know if I like it or not. Have to ponder on it for awhile. When it comes to color, I like it full-on and strong… so I need to think on this for.

In other “big steps”… I can’t believe I did this, but I donated blood to the Red Cross last week. When I was in elementary school I somehow cultivated this huge fear of needles in my head, and that stupid fear has dogged me throughout adulthood. I’m also TOTALLY skeeved out by the inside of arms, especially wrists and the inside crook of your elbow. The fact you can see the purple lines of veins under your skin, and feel your pulse in those places, just grosses the heck out of me. I remember one time in high school health class we had to take our own pulse and I got so light-headed and skeeved out that I almost vomited on my desk. Anyway… now at the ripe ol’ age of 32, I’ve decided it’s time to conquer my fears. I want to fly on a plane again. I want to go back to Poland. And I want to donate my blood because it’s important to help others, right??

So one day last week I noticed that the Red Cross was on campus and that our school was being pitted against another school in a competition… who could contribute the largest percentage of blood to the Red Cross? Perfect timing! I could kill two (well, three) birds with one stone- show school spirit at my new job AND donate AND conquer my fears. I filled out the paperwork. I studiously avoided making eye contact with anyone laying on the hospital cots getting worked on. When the counselor brought me back for health questioning, I was SO proud of myself and didn’t nervously blabber on and on about my dogs (although I DID have an opening- one question was, “Have you been in contact with someone else’s blood lately?” And of course between Lucy’s and Clifford’s dentals, and Lucy’s last day on earth vomiting bloody foam, and Cliff splitting his tongue open during his malignant hyperthermia episode, I had—so I asked the counselor if she meant just human blood or did dogs count-? She gave me the strangest look and said she didn’t know, but she’d make a note on my chart LOL). Anyway… they put me on the cot closest to the waiting area (where a gazillion students sat watching me), made me lay down but I had to “wear” a paper blanket like you get at the gynecologist’s office (because I was wearing a skirt and didn’t want to give the kids a show LOL)…embarrassing! As they proceeded to prep me I got more and more skeeved but took deep breaths and tried to stay calm…and then, unfortunately, I had a rare reaction halfway through the draw and my arms ended up temporarily paralyzed from the elbow down, I was slurring and lost a bit of vision. I had 3 nurses around me and they made me drink a carton of milk (apparently the reaction was from a lactic acid build-up in my muscles or something??) which was totally gross. But worse was the humiliation of going down in front of all the students! They said it was a rare reaction called “tennis” or something? It sounded a lot like “tetanus.” I wish I remembered exactly what it was called. It was so humiliating. I ended up being there 2 hours, as all these young’uns came and went without a problem or fear at all. And here Granny Jen couldn’t make it through… sigh.

Two hours later. The nurse came over to me, sitting shame-faced in the Recovery Area, and told me, “You have good color and are so strong! Just think, the blood you donated today will save THREE lives!”

At that point, I didn’t care whether my blood saved lives or got thrown in the dumpster, but Good Karma is Good Karma I guess.* After I was forced to finish my milk and a carton of juice, I was released to hobble back across campus to my office, my arm brown with iodine and a bright red bandage. Thankfully my boss and coworkers were very sympathetic despite my extra-long lunch break, but I stayed late after work to make it up just in case.

Well, I think that’s all for this installation. I need to plan my posts out better, so they aren’t so terribly long! Oh well. If you’ve read this far without falling asleep, give yourselves a candy bar—you made it!

Jen

*Hopefully this Good Karma will be put towards the purchase offer war I'm about to wage over 'my' house LOL. Please? God? I'm a good person and I REALLY like this house-!

Smiling Boys

2010-04-10T20:28:00.002-04:00

Down and Out

2010-04-10T20:10:00.001-04:00

Haven't written in awhile, arg! Things have been busy... I put my house on the market and am planning to move closer to my new job... can I tell you how stressful it is keeping your house "museum clean" for showings?:oP

Poor Cliff. He went in for a dental this week, as the vet found an abscessed tooth in the back of his mouth. It was a molar (which I guess is considered a major tooth). I also wanted to have his back right leg x-rayed since he's been having such a hard time walking.

Timeline:

7:15 AM: Drop Cliff off at the vet. They tell me that they'll call when he's out of surgery.

7:15 AM--1:00PM: Bite fingernails and try to concentrate at work.

1:00 PM: I can't wait anymore! I call to check Cliff's status, and find out he's on the table being worked on.

2:50 PM: Dr. G calls me to say that Cliff is finished. The x-rays are fine, but there is some dysplasia in the hips- they couldn't even extend Cliff's leg all the way. BUT.. there is less osteoarthritis than expected. Three major teeth- all molars- were removed during the dental. A strange finding: Cliff's right leg muscles are much larger than his left, which is odd because Cliff's right leg is the lame one. If anything, the LEFT leg should be bulkier from being used more. Vet palpitated for tumors or masses but didn't feel anything. Made a note in Cliff's chart for monitoring. I get all the details on his recovery care and hang up feeling fairly happy about the outcome.

3:30 PM: Vet receptionist calls and asks if I can come to pick up Cliff asap. He's screaming, crying, really stressing out. "He wants his Mommy," she says.

4:30 PM: I roll into the vet's parking lot. Dr. B, who has come on duty after Dr. G., meets me at the door. It's NEVER a good thing when the vet meets you at the door, let me tell you!! "Your boy gave us quite a scare," she said, and brings me in the back room. Clifford is laying on the operating table, drenched, shaking like crazy- beside him is a tub filled with ice-- apparently he was so stressed that his temps skyrocketed from 98 to 107!! They had to give him an emergency catheter and ice bath to bring his temps down. He was so upset that he pooped all over, bit his tongue and split it, and nicked a few of his toes. He didn't have a stroke or seizure (thank God!!) but 107 is dangerous territory for a dog! When I came in back... poor Cliff!! Laying with his big feet in the air, both legs shaved, catheter in, bloody muzzle from the dental, bloody tongue, bloody toe, trembling and wet-- I almost lost it. He looked so elderly and frail-!!

I sat with Cliff for awhile, trying to keep him calm. The vet explained that she thought this was stress-induced BUT it might not be... we could transfer him to Cornell for monitoring (since they closed at 6 and Cornell is a 24 hour facility)... or I could bring him home and then rush him to the ER vet in Syracuse if his temps skyrocketed again. I decided to bring him home. We kept the catheter in in case he needed fluids again. And with that... we got Cliff down from the table, helped him into the car, and went home.

I'm happy to say that once Cliff got in familiar territory, he was MUCH more comfortable. He had some difficulty laying down that evening (I'm assuming stiffness from being manipulated for xrays) but ate half his chicken/rice dinner and gulped his antibiotics and pain killers (etodolac and tramadol). His catheter came out this morning... and he's doing great! I have to say though, from this experience and Lucy's dental... I will be MUCH more hesitant to put an older dog under anesthesia again. Both of these instances were my fault, because I was too lax with tooth brushing and hand-scaling the past couple years and their mouths got bad... but never again. Once Cliff's mouth heals, he and Jack will be getting nightly brushings. No excuses!

Jen

Jack Turns 3

2010-03-28T19:52:00.000-04:00

Jack turned 3 last week! I'm a day late and dollar short in posting, but here we go:

Beef knuckles for all! Cliff snubbed his, so Jack got both... and boy, did that make him a happy camper...

There was also some birthday fetching games- boy, is my pup a Ball-Crazy boy! Here he goes with an old ball that emerged from the melted snow, but he got a new ball-on-a-rope thingee, which he also enjoyed. He also got a frisbee emblazoned with the logo of the new university I work at, but he punctured and snapped it on the first fetch. Oh well, I guess it was made for human hands and not carnivorous dog fangs... lol.

... Some birthday running with Cliff (or rather, around Cliff)...

For his Birthday Hike, we went to the Esker Brook trail system which is on the western edge of the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. We parked at the South Spring Pool and hiked in, which made it a round trip of about 3 miles. Because of this, I left Cliff at home with a peanut butter stuffed bone (the next day, on Sunday, I decided to try Cliff for a mile-ish hike with Jack on the flat Erie Canal trail, and later in the evening he was sooo stiff he could barely walk. Poor Cliffie! Glad I didn't try him at Esker, it would have been WAY too much).

It was a beautiful hike. The highlight was seeing a bluebird AND the first turtles of the season... I guess they are un-burying themselves from winter hibernation. They were straddling logs and rocks in the ponds, soaking up the rays. They were pretty skittish- I couldn't even approach the shore to take a picture before they slid into the water and disappeared.

The funniest (and most amusing) part of the hike was along the ponds, where hundreds of little frogs were singing their amorous calls to each other. As we walked along the trail, they literally sprang from the pond's edge into the water by the dozens! Jack was stunned by it. I mean, they were just ALL over the place, rocketting away as soon as we came close. A few times, Jack jumped into the muddy water just to see if he could find them (did he know they were little animals? Or did he think they were tiny tennis balls launching themselves from the earth? Who knows) but he couldn't get remotely close to them. Nor could he find them in the muddy, brackish water. I wish I could have gotten some pictures... they were small and dark (black?) and seemed to have some bright green parts? Are those peeper frogs?

Happy Birthday to the little imp!! I'm so happy that Lucy approved of him back in the fall, and we decided on adoption. He has been a fantastic addition to our family.

Jen

Cliffie Gets the Kitty

2010-03-21T20:45:00.000-04:00

The weather was really beautiful this weekend- mid 50's? Cliff had a great time playing in the yard with his kitty stuffie. Look at that sweet face! I can't believe my Crazy Man will be 12 in June!!!

Thanks.

2010-03-19T20:41:00.000-04:00

Many, many thanks to everyone who sent cards, posted, emailed, Facebooked, etc messages of condolence about my Lucy. I can't tell you how much they've meant to me. The past few weeks have been excrutiating. Thank God for my new job- going to work, learning new things, meeting new faces has been the highlight- total distraction. I love my new job anyways, but it's extra nice now because being at home is hard. Anxiety attacks (which blow into panic attacks), wallowing, crying, talking to my dead dogs...I got her ashes on Tuesday... it is so hard to believe that my beautiful greyhound is now a bag of ashes? How did that happen? I sit at night with it on my lap and think, "Good God, what happened? What happened, Lucy? How did this HAPPEN?" I mean- What was it? How come she couldn't breathe? Should I have waited to put her to sleep? Did she know what was happening? Just this mix of emotions... sadness, overwhelming depression, anger.

But then I learned that another local greyhound person lost her grey a few days after Lucy, from cancer, and he was only SIX, and I feel guilty going to pieces over an almost-14 year old with cancer, when her boy was so young... I shouldn't feel so guilty... I shouldn't be so mad about her death... she was old... at LEAST she wasn't six... why am I so worked up??

The boys are well. I posted a photo I took today (top) of them romping in the yard after work- the sun was setting so the color is awful- but they were very cute. It's so hard to say "the boys" now, so strange. Jack turned 3 yesterday believe it or not. He got some large beef knuckles to chew, and three Birthday Boy Spanks (don't worry, they are gentle!), and lots of kisses but I need to get him out this weekend for a hike. Clifford is his usual jolly, stinky self but the disc problems in his back have been bothering him quite a bit- he trips and "skips" on walks a lot- the Metacam seems to be losing it's helpfulness. Might have to try something else?

Anyway, I will post pictures of The Birthday Boy and his Big Bro this weekend, and hopefully a new linocut sketch (still trying to work up the muse for that one)- There are some people in this world who can take lemons and make lemonade- you know the saying- but I'm not one of them. But I'm trying to work up the inspiration to do a linocut celebrating Lucy, with the proceeds going back to her adoption group- a way to remember her by, and yet honor the group who rescued her- I just don't seem to have the energy to do anything positive- I want to lose myself at work or in a book (I guess on the upside I've read a lot of novels these past few weeks!). But this weekend I'm going to work on the sketch, I promise.

And so amigas and amigos... Thank you again for your kind thoughts. I think most of you I've never met in person and yet you've posted such comforting words on my blog, and even emailed me your phone numbers in case I needed a shoulder to cry on, or sent beautiful cards even though you never met Lucy in person- it's really amazing to me and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. They brought me some measure of comfort in this cloudy time.

I promise I'll post some Happy this weekend. Jack is eager to have some birthday pictures up, and of course Cliffy wants some face time too. They are both wonderful hounds! They will never be Lucy, but they are so special, in their own right.

Jen

Last Pictures

2010-03-07T19:10:00.000-05:00

I can't believe these crummy photos are the last ones I will ever take of Lucy. It was last weekend, when we had a big storm that was dumping 15 inches. She did a gallop in the yard with Cliff (top) but after a few clicks we went back inside where it was warm. And I put the camera away. Why did I put the camera away??

I don't understand it. She was doing so well. On Sunday night she had a slight breathing attack, but it only lasted maybe 30 seconds. I was so happy. I thought maybe the tramadol and antibiotics were helping. No breathing attack Monday. None Tuesday. I was so happy.

Wednesday evening I took a Tylenol PM (headache) and fell asleep watching Ghost Hunters on TV. About 11, I woke up to Lucy having a breathing attack. I got up and sat with her, but she kept heaving. I held up her back end (she's wobbly) and keep rubbing her, but she's not calming down. The minutes pass and she can't breathe and I'm becoming more and more concerned. I move away from holding up her backside, and look at her face, and see bloody foam is bubbling from her mouth as she heaves. I panic. I plead with her to breathe. Her eyes are bulging and she's terrified and losing it. That's when I think, "Shit. This is it, she's suffocating to death. Shit, shit SHIT." I grab my purse, car keys, and the Emergency Vet brochure off the fridge, and try cajoling her to the door. She can't move and although her mouth was wide open, you couldn't see inside well because it was covered in sheets of thick mucous. She's still heaving and gagging for breath. I can see she's absolutely terrified. The bloody foam is stringing down from the corners of her mouth. As soon as I go to pick her up, she has a convulsion/seizure and poops and pees all over the floor and herself. I get her out the door and put her in the back of the Scion, turn on my flashers and begin the 30 mile drive to the Emergency Vet, flying the whole way, blowing stop signs and stoplights. Lucy lay in the back where I dumped her, muzzle covered in mucous, gagging and heaving. Eventually she stops & I can't tell if she is dead or alive. Do I stop and check?? Keep going?? Do I drive and try to get to the vet in time, or pull over and sit with her while she dies???? I call the vet and let them know what is happening and ask them to be ready. I call Bridge and leave a panicked message. I call my parents' cell phones again and again until they answer. Mom stays on the phone with me while I'm shaking and sobbing that Lucy might be dead, she's not gagging anymore in back, just laying face down in her own stomach mucous. It was horrific. It was the most horrific drive of my life.

We pull into the vet's office and the vet tech comes out to help me get Lucy out. She was alive, but really out of it. They begin administering oxygen. I sit shaking and crying in the waiting room, waiting for news. Blessings, they were able to revive her. After awhile I was able to go in and visit. She was in rough shape but perky, eyes bright. sitting up. We got to have a little time together, and go outside briefly for some fresh night air. Afterward, we went into a room with a scene of the Rainbow Bridge painted on the wall, where Lucy lay on a thick blanket and we got to say goodbye.

Around 1:30 AM Thursday morning, I drove home alone.

The vet said the mass in her muzzle felt like cancer, not infection, and confirmed it was probably squamous cell carcinoma because of the location... either growing up from her throat, or from the tumor down her throat. Of course we can't know for sure, maybe I should have had a necropsy done for peace of mind. I guess it doesn't matter now.

Although it was semi-peaceful in the end, it haunts me that the last hour or so of her life was so violent. She didn't deserve to go that way. She didn't deserve to be terrified and suffocate like she did. I knew that we may be facing end-of-life issues, and had wanted to bring her to see her favorite neighbors before she died. I wanted her to see my parents' new house in Utica. I wanted her to see spring and be able to sunbathe for one last time. I wanted her to be at home or in the car (she loved rides) when the vet came with the needle. I wanted it to be peaceful and beautiful for her. I didn't want her to be covered in her own feces and dried bloody mucous in some strange office. I didn't want her to go that way. She deserved more than that.

She deserved so much more than that.

Lucy (PW's Dixiesquick) September 13, 1996- March 3, 2010

2010-03-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

Light of my life

Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight...

~Joan Baez

A Day at the Vets

2010-02-27T17:24:00.000-05:00

Well, it sucks. Lucy and Jack went to the vets this morning. Jack wasn't scheduled, but I fell asleep watching the Olympics last night, dropped the remote off my lap at some point, it cracked it open, and Jack decided to snack on one of the AAA batteries. What a bonehead! Didn't swallow it, but ate it open and I found vomit, which I assumed was his. The vet checked him out, didn't find burns or lesions in his mouth- gums and teeth okay- he was as happy as a clam to be getting checked out and prodded. Thankfully that ended well (and I didn't even get charged!).

Lucy is not so lucky. :( The vet watched the video I made of Lucy's gagging attacks, and found a large mass along the bone of her top jaw. I never noticed it, but if you look at her muzzle from the top you can see the left side is incredibly large compared to the right. She said nothing could be diagnosed without exploratory surgery, but it has a chance of being squamous cell carcinoma, in her jaw and spreading to her throat. The other issue might just be an infected bone, and the gagging attacks from a collapsing trachea. Or, it could be larangeal paralysis which is incurable without surgery (which would be risky, given Lucy's bad reaction to anesthesia during her dental) and can cause suffocation if the dog goes into an attack and can't get out of it. The vet said she was also concerned about Lucy's condition, seeing she lost another 4 lbs since her dental 2 months ago. This means she is almost 10 lbs. below her normal weight of 61 lbs. I think she's even a lb or 2 below her racing weight now. :o(

The vet gave us antibiotics (in case, by chance, it may be an infection), tramadol for pain and more Deramaxx, an anti-inflammatory. We also got a brochure on Pet Haven, to plan end-of-life issues if that is the route we choose to go. I have no idea what to do. What the heck do I do? She galloped a few paces in the snow today, but refused to eat even peanut butter (her favorite snack). I did get her a timbit at Tim Horton's, which she ate. One minute she's looking perky on the bed and the next minute her mouth is covered in blood from her bad gums. I don't know what to do?

Jen

Lucy's Not Feeling Well

2010-02-24T21:43:00.000-05:00

A week and a half ago, Lucy started waking up in the middle of the night with these horrible breathing attacks. She's seeing the vet on Saturday. Last night (or, early this morning I guess) I took a video of it when she woke me up- it always starts with a cough or two, then becomes huge gasping breaths. They last about 2-3 minutes each, and are really disturbing. Lucy seems to be frightened during them as well. Sometimes she has 2 attacks per night (I'm not sure if they happen during the day since I'm at work?)?

This summer she started having problems breathing in the heat, and she "lost" her voice last year, but these attacks are new and scary. Could it be larangeal paralysis? If so, I'm kind of scared because I've heard of dogs dying from suffocation during breathing attacks. :o(

Any thoughts? I'm worried sick. :o(

Jen

Playin' in the Snow

2010-02-21T19:07:00.000-05:00

I meant to post this week, but time got away from me. I started a new job on Monday, and by the time I get home at 6 I'm exhausted! Lots of learning new things, training, a longer workday and longer commute etc. So I haven't really gotten any art done, no website work, no nothin', lol. I bought a jar of vitamins and protein bars though, so hopefully that will boost my evening productivity. :o)

In the meantime, here's a video of the pups playing in the snow. Please excuse my muppet voice! I hate how I sound. Why do you sound so different in your head than you do in real life, can anyone explain that?

Jen

Some Photos from the Week...

2010-02-10T19:40:00.001-05:00

Working on my "Valentines Day" challenge over at WetCanvas. I really wasn't 'feeling' the last sketch (with Jack and Lucy on the couch) so I switched to all 3 dogs laying together- I had worked on their sketches in November but never went anywhere with them. This sketch isn't as 'sweet' and 'cute' and 'cuddly' an image, and frankly not very Valentine-y at all. Maybe if I carve some hearts all over the dogs' collars? lol.

Sunset the other evening-looking down the street from my house on the hill. If you look really REALLY closely, you might be able to see the chew-holes in the eaves of all the houses, from the Psycho Squirrels we have in our neighborhood. The other day I went out to the car and saw a squirrel hanging off the corner beam of my carport. It had a sneaky gleam in its eye. So I went over, right? Half the fracking beam was gone along the backside! Chewed away! He was eating my carport-! And I noticed that the top "spikes" of my stockade fence have been chewed down to nubs, too, in one section in the backyard-! Insanity Junction around here.

And my three sighthounds doing nothing about Our Grand Squirrel Situation?

Pups in the yard this weekend. Snowy and cold- we did get a couple walks in, though. After a few months with Jack, we're finally settling into a walk schedule (at least for winter). Jack and Cliff go for a longer, faster walk first, then we swing by and pick up Lucy for a short, slow amble around the block. Actually, "amble" might be too much for what we do. She is REALLY slow. :o) But at 13 she is allowed to go as slow as she darn well pleases. :o) I'm just happy to keep her up and limber.

I'm finishing up a re-read of The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan. I've read all her books now (I think) but not Joy Luck since my freshman year of college, when it was one of our assigned readings for a first-year class we called 'Core.' My parents recently moved and so I had to get all my old books (from youth, high school, college) out of their attic- total craziness. I had 5 huge boxes up there! Joy Luck was one of them. It has been an absolutely delish re-read. Next on the docket is The White Rose: Munich 1942-1943 which was also for one of my college classes- it's about an anti-Fascist resistance movement that started at the University of Munich during WW2.*

...and chug, chug, chug. Winter continues to putter along....

Jen

*Lest you think re-reading college books are pretentious and/or overly academic, I must add that before Joy Lucy I reread The Dirt: The Official Biography of Motley Crue for, like, the 20th time, and thoroughly enjoyed every darn page of it. ;o)

In Memoriam

2010-02-05T14:13:00.001-05:00

My website is currently dead. This weekend I'm going to (hopefully) set everything up with a new look, new art, etc etc. using Wordpress as my CMS (which, I learned recently, means "Content Management System" and is apparently a fancy word for "website" nowadays). I was using Netobjects Fusion which I like, but I want to combine everything on one page- site and blog. It just seems easier and more cohesive.

Yesterday during lunch break I tried to freshen up the look of some of my other pages (this blog, my Twitter page, and Etsy store) and the whole shabang died. All I wanted to do was try out some new wallpaper and put up a new banner- and WHAM- things folded. I lost a lot of stuff. :o( Thankfully I was able to recover it all, I think (except a few pics? sniff). Could I have been hit by a virus or spider somehow? Does anyone know how that stuff works?

Anyway, stay tuned. By Sunday I hope to unfold my new online digs.

Right now I'm on my way to the city to do some errands but I am NOT ALLOWED to stop at the art store. I have enough linoleum, I need to get a grip! lol.

Jen

P.S.- Clifford is doing great, although we almost had a catastrophe last night. The dogs were amped (I had just gotten home from work which is HUGE EXCITEMENT for them) and were racing through the yard. Cliff was feeling great apparently- going full tilt- and even Lucy ran a bit. Anyway, the boys collided while running. Seriously, if I had eaten lunch yesterday I would have lost it- it was very frightening. I have heard of greyhounds who have actually died running into things (from their sheer bulk and speed). I know one local lady whose greyhound ran into the fence after a squirrel, and her chest caved and blew both of her lungs out (the dog died at the E-vet). Good Lord.

Jack bounded up unhurt, but I had to help Cliff. And Cliff was ANGRY. Once up, he attempted to go at Jack like a monkey on a hambone. Since I still had my hands on him, though, I spun him around and away so no one was bit. It's kind of interesting how -offended- Cliff gets when Jack bumps or hits him. When Lucy bumps him or gets in his way, he doesn't care at all. If Jack does, then the growls and mean looks start. I wonder if it's because Jack is another male? Because he is younger and stronger? Because Jack is pushier than Lucy? Because Cliff senses Lucy is a loose canon and is secretly afraid of her? Because Jack competes more for my attention, where Lucy could care less if I lived or died (lol)? I would love to know how his mind worked.

The Weekend of Cliff

2010-02-03T19:38:00.000-05:00

My poor boy Clifford. He had a rough, rough weekend. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but Clifford has a bum back leg that has always been wonky for one reason or another: one of the paw pads has a corn, he had a knee strain at one point, the leg always trembles when he stands too long, etc. The past 6 months has been a limp-fest, so we've tried Deramaxx, which gave him the Big D very badly. We tried another round of the Deramaxx before giving him a break and then switching him to some of Lucy's old Metacam (she's on Dereamaxx now). The Metacam worked great for several hits but then stopped working. And the limping continued.

This past weekend, Cliff wasn't even putting any weight on the leg. Even my parents noticed. :o(

Monday I called the vet, and they said I should call an orthopedic specialist for x-rays. I then rang Dr. B., Lucy's specialist, and they were able to get me in yesterday (Bless my boss, who let me take a personal day!!).

After a long, worried-filled day of waiting, Cliff's problem was pinpointed: Disc Disease. I forgot the long, official name for it but basically he has two areas that are pinching at his discs, causing sciatica-type symptoms. He's on Metacam every day for 2 weeks, and then we'll go from there. He may need cortisone shots in his spine periodically.

I'm so thankful it isn't bone cancer. When you hear "greyhound" and "limp" in the same sentence, it's usually osteosarcoma.... and yet I've had 2 limping greyhounds, and have dodged the bullet twice. Tonight when I got home from work, Cliff was running around the yard like a dzikus with a toy in his mouth... chasing Jack, peeing on the fence, galloping here and there. It's great to see him so full of life and happy- with no limp at all! What a guy. :o)

Jen

Practice Runs

2010-01-29T16:13:00.000-05:00

It's been frigid the past couple days... I mean, nose- and hand-numbing frigid. The street is coated with salt so it's hard to get the dogs out for walks. Even with their winter coats, I worry about their exposed butt-cheeks (and their paws, of course).

To keep the pups occupied, we've been training a lot. Jack has learned "wait" (I'd give him a B so far!) and is learning "back" (back up). Cliff has lots of tricks to practice- bow, wait, spin, shake. Lucy used to know sit, down, wait, and shake but has regressed a bit. She can't hear very well anymore, and working on sign language is rather daunting. I need to start...

Anyway, we were practicing today. I think the pups are doing really well. Don't they look great? Me- okay. Is it true the camera adds 10 lbs. or do I really look that fat in real life?? OMG. I'm really embarrassed (I know the "mom jeans" don't help, but...ugh. Talk about a whale).

Without further ado...

Valentines Sketch...

2010-01-28T12:42:00.000-05:00

... I signed up to do a Valentines Day Challenge on Wetcanvas.com. Did I mention that before? Anyway, the models for this linocut are Jack (the cuddler) and Lucy (the cuddlee). Now this is a rare occurance, but it HAS happened before. Lucy *is* the epitome of 'bitch', but she does have her better moments.

Proof?

See, I didn't concoct this image- it really did happen! And Jack came out of it without any bites, torn skin, or missing eyes. Lucy allowed him to get up next to her, and allowed him to cuddle up against her back- a Festivus Miracle, guys. Jack was just a foster at that point (new to the house, too)... and... wow. It totally blew my mind. Lucy isn't the kind of dog to allow that.

So the drawing. I use photographs for reference (obviously), but there are some things I'm changing here. I'm giving Jack's front leg a little more "life", and also fleshing out Lucy's neck and face better. The camera distorted her back inside leg, so I fixed that in my sketch as well. I'm going to tinker with the background a bit- it'll still be a couch, but different color/texture/pattern for better contrast. My main challenge is going to be making this look like Jack is cuddling, not humping. You know what I mean?? I'm kind of paranoid that this will turn out into some kinky greyhound picture which it is NOT supposed to be-!!

I'm hoping to finish the sketch during lunch break today, and then begin working on my linocut tonight. If I can get this wrapped up by Sunday, then I will have completed 3 linocuts this month! My 2010 Goal is to do two per month, so I will definitely be ahead!! Exciting...

Jen

Family Portraits

2010-01-26T12:51:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago a photographer came to our local Petco with a $9.99 photo package special. Of course I couldn't resist, and loaded up all 3 dogs in the Scion for a ride over. It was the funniest disaster EVER. I have the one clown just off the track who knows absolutely nothing, one deaf paranoid schitzophrenic, and a dog that never mentally leaves Planet Clifford. The poor photogs had their work cut out for them!

Outakes of the Zalewski Family Portrait Session

In short, Jack urinated all over the equipment and sign-up table, and then was SO eager for biscuits that his eyes bulge out of his head in EVERY STINKING PHOTO. Clifford had fun the first 5 minutes (doesn't he look jaunty??) and then mentally checked out to La La land. Poor Lucy looks ashamed, sad, and/or beaten in every pic :oP

Despite this, it was the most fun 30 minutes I had all week! Ha ha!

Jen

White-Breasted Nuthatch (Scanned Pic)

2010-01-26T12:37:00.000-05:00

I finally got a nice scan of my finished White-Breasted Nuthatch, and wanted to post it. :) Today during lunch hour I'm cutting the editions down to size (8 x 10 paper- it's slightly larger now) to package and put on Etsy soon...

Jen

It Makes Your Mouth Water....

2010-01-25T21:23:00.002-05:00

Jack drools.

I can't believe it. It makes me laugh and gag at the same time. I mean a Bloodhound drooling? Sure. A Saint Bernard? Absolutely. But never in a million years would I think "drool" and "greyhound" in the same sentence-! I mean...they are thin-lipped, slim-muzzled dogs. Clean, regal, and... uh... well, whatever.

In the past couple months I've begun to get serious with training Jack and let me tell you, once those jerky treats come out... so do the water works. It doesn't take much to get his salivary glands worked up into a frenzy. Thank God I don't cook a lot, because the few times I've baked biscuits he's stayed around in the kitchen with pools of drool forming at his feet. I've begun keeping a paper towel handy while we train, just so I can wipe his mouth when things start to get out of control.

All it takes are a few sniffs of savory aromas, and the 'magic' begins. Sometimes the drool forms a bubble...

Other times it just coagulates into a foamy ball....

Other times, it drips....

....or falls down in long, spitty ropes.

Of course Jack mastered "paw" (shake) last month and with our training, he has begun to have a great working knowledge of "wait" but still needs a lot of practice and proofing to hold it. He's also learning "back" (back up) with Clifford's expert help. I wonder if I can train him to dab the corners of his mouth with a napkin at appropriate times-? ROFL.

Jen

White Breasted Nuthatch- Reduction Linocut

2010-01-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

First reduction linocut of the year! Do you remember my bad streak of reductions from last year? It went like this:

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

But it's a new year, time for a new start, and first on the docket was a White-Breasted Nuthatch. I really want to do a series of linocuts highlighting the animals of Upstate NY. Two weeks ago I went x-country skiing at Beaver Lake and saw one of these guys, a little gray and white puffball, trying to keep warm- and I thought, "that's it-! That's my first subject!"

This was my first reduction of 2010 AND the first time in years I tried a piece of linoleum with the wood already factory-glued to the back. I had a bad experience with this backed-linoleum years ago (it was REALLY old and hard to carve) so I've avoided it, but cutting lino yourself, finding a backing board, cutting the board to size and gluing it yourself is a PITA and I was having problems with my self-glued boards going through my press adequately. I decided to give the pre-backed lino another spin, and bought a 5x7 piece at the city art store. It was really nice, a bit more crumbly than some battleship lino I've carved but not bad at all.

I carved away all the parts of the print I wanted to keep white (the paper color) and inked up a with a mix of very light grey (black, process blue and titanium white)...

...it's always so fun to see the picture start to emerge!

Second reduction meant carving away more of the block, and printing in a slightly darker gray...

I was a bit nervous here because this came out much darker than I wanted... But I had to trust it.

Finally, last reduction! I carved away even more and then printed in a dark gray/black:

YAY! I loved the way it came out. Unfortunately I forgot to carve my chop in, though. Can you believe it? I tried adding it later as a stamp but it came out really badly, so I nixed it. I think I'll have an edition of about 10 on this.

Here is the last stage of the block:

And the press my Dad and I built! It printed these pre-glued lino blocks BEAUTIFULLY.

I bought another pre-glued lino block for my next (I think either a landscape or woodpecker) but first I'm going to tackle another greyhound print. I've picked out some reference material and sketching begins tonight. I signed up for a Valentine Challenge* on WetCanvas, and so my print is going to be Jack and Lucy snuggling together on the couch. I'm not a romantic person in the least bit so that's as far as it's going to get with me. It's KIND of valentine-y, right?

Jen

*The best parts about Valentine's Day are the profusely-filled aisles of candy at every store you walk into, but I'm trying to eat healthy now so no chocolates or conversation hearts for me. Well, not my usual load anyway. :oP

A New Linocut... Somewhere

2010-01-20T12:36:00.000-05:00

Here it is!

I started this post last week, just finished it up during lunch hour, hit "publish" ... and it disappears! It posted on the day I started the draft. I wish I could figure out how to change that... anyone know?

Well anywho, if you want to see my FIRST SUCCESSFUL REDUCTION LINOCUT of the year (of the past 2 years, practically!) please click the link... I think it came out better than expected. :o) Always room for improvement, of course, but a nice start...

Jen

Goal-Setting and All That Jazz

2010-01-17T20:04:00.000-05:00

Last year I attended an amazing lecture by renowned African-American photographer Carrie Mae Weems (if she's ever in your area, I highly suggest seeing her speak! Wow!). Her talk was so, so SO energizing, I found myself digging in my purse, pulling out my grocery list and trying to scribble down notes in the darkened auditorium as she discussed art, being an artist, life and creativity. She talked about finding your passion, your voice, and having "a Project." She talked about having a real responsibility to ourselves to construct our own images, and an obligation show them to the public world. She asked us to answer the question of, 'What are you committed to?'" and use the answers to fill our lives with mission. Everything she said was so simple, yet so complex. The whole audience seemed to hang on every word out of her mouth.

It's January, and I'm trying to set my goals for the year. I don't call them 'resolutions' anymore but consider them real, working goals. I find that if I DON'T write the things down I want to accomplish, then life seems to... kind of float by? And all of a sudden I'm like, "Whoa! Another week has gone by, and what the heck did I do that was productive??" Crazy.

After I heard Carrie Mae Weems speak, I decided to formulate my artistic goals. And I DID, in my head, but I'm going to write (er, type) them down this time:

2010 Art Goals:

1. Finish 2 pieces of art per month!!

2. PROJECT: Continue working on my portfolio of Greyhound Art.

3. PROJECT: Begin working on documenting the Wildlife of Upstate New York in linocuts.

4. PROJECT: Continue working on documenting the Landcapes of Upstate New York in linocuts.

5. My website: Combine that and my blog onto one site. I hate having them in separate places! Why am I paying for a domain name again-?? I just renewed my hosting plan and am going to start the process realllllly soon-!

I have personal goals too (lose that extra 10 lbs., eat healthier, get Jack certified in animal-assisted therapy, keep Lucy and Cliff healthy and limber on their NSAIDs, yadda yadda) but that's another story and another project, lol. :o)

Anyone else have art/create/crafty goals for the year?

Jen

Gumby Lucy

2010-01-16T14:58:00.000-05:00

Boys in the snow

2010-01-16T14:54:00.000-05:00

Please throw my ball....

2010-01-16T14:53:00.002-05:00

Miss Maggie...

2010-01-14T20:48:00.000-05:00

It took me forever to find it, but this is my favorite picture of Maggie, one of my friend Bridget's greyhounds (napping with Cliff, shortly after he was adopted). Maggie passed away on Friday after a battle with bone cancer. She was the sweetest, most kissy girl EVER! I think she was the epitome of what everyone looks for in a greyhound... a gentle, sweet, loyal hound- just a really good, good pup. It makes me so sad that two of my best friends have lost dogs within the past 4-5 weeks... :o(

Jen

"Watch"dog- Finished Greyhound Linocut

2010-01-13T12:33:00.000-05:00

Well, Jack's linocut is finished! Some glitches along the way. First of all, I couldn't get either of my presses to work properly (and my basement sump pump is also on the fritz, which is unfortunate because there is an underground spring somewhere near my house, constantly flooding the place... it is like a Mechanical Uprising here! No presses! No sump pump! God I hope the furnace isn't next, lol). Soooo.. I had to print these by hand, with a wooden spoon. It's hard to hand-print on thick paper like Stonehenge, so I used up the few sheets of Kitakata I had left-thin and wispy paper, really nice to hand-print with. I think one of the reasons the presses wouldn't work is because my block was lumpy. It SEEMS flat, but my glued-in head wasn't the same height as the rest of the carving (wth?)... and... well... it was just a pain.

I decided to call this one "Watch"dog, with watch in quotes because, well, greyhounds aren't really watch dogs in a guard-dog sense, but they are sighthounds and very visually perceptive... ha ha? Maybe?

I really like the way this one came out, even with all the head-bungles. And I did get some "noise" in the background... those carving marks that you DON'T want to print, but some always do... but that doesn't bother me either. I kind of like a little noise for good energy.

Anyway, my first print for 2010 is done- AND I'm happy with it- Hooray! Always good to have 'the first' under your belt...

Jen

First Piece of the New Year! Almost there...

2010-01-09T21:25:00.001-05:00

I have been so bad about posting! Not a great start to 2010, aye?? I try to update my blog at least twice a week, but just didn't get to things... and I have a ton of stuff to put up too... sigh.

Last week (weekend?) I posted the above photo of all my MESSED UP linocuts of Jack. It's his darn face... How do you carve a dark brindle greyhound head without it coming out like a black blob?? How do you get the details with the black brindle greyhound turning into a red brindle or light brindle? You know what I mean. A couple strokes too many with the chisel and you totally change the shade of your dog. Ug. Of course, in these linocuts I carve the whole piece first, leaving the face (hardest part) for last... only to mess up... and have to start all over again.

Finally I thought... hmm. I'm just going to take a nice body, cut the messed-up face out, carve a new face, and paste it in. Will that work?? Sooo... I removed my piece of linoleum from the plywood backing block. Cut the face out and chucked it. Re-carved several new faces on tiny pieces of linoleum until I came up with one I liked...

...and fit it in, like a puzzle piece! I then glued the pieces back on the plywood, and filled the "seam" along the neck with wood filler from the hardware store.

Pretty darn close! A lot of trouble, but it worked out. And I spent all week hemming and hawing about the "ground"... I wanted to carve grass, but the texture competed too much with the brindling. I kept carving and carving until I finally made myself stop, lol.

And do you see my "chop", on the lower right? I designed it last year but never used it! I am going to from now on, starting with all my 2010 pieces. It was so neat to carve into the piece. It's the little things in life that are exciting, right? :o)

Last night and this afternoon I spent measuring/cutting sheets of Rising Stonehenge paper (my fave) into 15 x 11 pieces, and taping off my sliding registration board (the blue tape will show me where to line up my paper and block in relation to each other)...

Last but not least, my faithful circus peanuts, keeping me company while I work! Don't they look excited?? Lol.

I think I'll use my wood filler to maybe darken more areas back into Jack's neck. Not sure. Printing tomorrow...

Jen

First Big Storm!

2010-01-03T13:12:00.000-05:00

We're in the middle of our first big snow storm of the season. It started last night- whipping, frigid winds, horrid drifting, the snow coming down in bucket-fulls. And it's still coming down! If it was a bit warmer, it would be wonderful to ski in but it's only 11 degrees (that's without the wind chill). It's so cold that the inside of your nose freezes and pinches together- just really, really unbearable.

I got the dogs out briefly this morning, but just for a few moments. I threw a tennis ball for Jack, and it landed in the snow he couldn't find it. Clifford, of course, was there to egg him on....

...Success! Jack found his ball buried in the drifts, but unfortunately could not see his way back to the house with all the snow in his face LOL.

Cliff enjoys a post-potty gallop....

...and Miss Lucy hunkered up for a potty before high-tailing it back inside.

I should get out my new snow-blower (well, "new-to-me") and blow some trails around the yard for the dogs, but I'm afraid of running over Clifford's toys. He always has to bring a stuffy outside to go to the bathroom with him, but then he drops and leaves it for me to pick up. I gathered them all up and brought them in a few days ago, but I'm afraid he's dragged them all out again. I'll have to get out the shovel I guess, and compromise my poor back again. I don't know what I did to it, but it hasn't been the same the past few months. I guess I am getting old! :o(

Jen

"And another year goes by like a tolling bell..."

2010-01-03T12:45:00.001-05:00

Well, this week has been an interesting vacation. In the art arena, it hasn't been that good. I've been trying to carve a linocut of Jack and holy toledo batman, carving the face of a young brindle dog is HARD. Especially a dark brindle like Jack. The black mask really has been throwing me for a loop- I've carved several pieces only to TOTALLY mess up the face- and totally ruining the piece. How do you carve a dog with a black face, without making them look grizzled like an elderly dog-? Challenges, challenges...

In other challenges, we've been battling fleas (how the heck did THAT happen?) and, of all things, RINGWORM. The dogs have the fleas, and I have the ringworm. It's like a freaking parasitical circus over here. :oP I've also been having horrid dreams about Lucy and Clifford- people letting them loose, having to look for them, etc. In one dream, someone gave Clifford heroin and sugar pills, and he got sick. I pulled out a gun and went to blow the face off the person who OD'ed him (I woke up before that happened). I've also been having strange dreams about my dogs who passed away- in one dream, my terrier Rudy got caught in a garage door and was lifted up and crushed in the ceiling while I watched in horror. In another dream, I was at church with my pug Ginger, and the whole congregation was singing "I believe in music" by Mac Davis, and I was singing and holding Ginger up, waving her around over my head like the Baby Jesus. So bizarre!

2010 has arrived and I am also at my heaviest weight ever. I feel horrid about it. I so DON'T want to go up a pant size or compromise my ability to go out hiking, skiing, etc with my dogs... and adult onset diabetes runs in my family... so I'm cutting my sugar intake dramatically (God help me). And I'm going to get up early and workout in the morning before work. I have FitTV, I might as well use it right?? I need to drop 10 lbs., at least. Oye.

I also have to tell you about the most amazing book I got out of the library. It's called "Unfinished Business" by James Van Praagh. This book has totally changed how I look at life- seriously- it is a mind-blowing book. If you aren't open-minded about spiritually-gifted people (the author is a medium) than you won't like it, but if you're open to different possibilities about life and after-life, than you'll totally be blown away. I've read other books by mediums like Sylvia Brown and found her stuff kind of kooky (I've also watched her on Montel and get a wierd vibe from her) but I've always thought James Van Praagh was a down-to-earth, honest, regular guy who is really gifted. I don't buy many books anymore unless I really love them (no room on the shelves, and it's cheaper visiting the library!) but I'm DEFINITELY going to pick up a copy of this book. Totally A Plus.

Szczesliwego Nowego Roku (Happy New Year).

Jen

Lucy's friend Malcolm

2009-12-26T19:30:00.000-05:00

Lucy and Mal share a blanket at the ballpark

I had a great Christmas but came home from family gatherings to find out that my dear friend Tracy lost her greyhound Mal early Xmas morning. I am so, so sorry Trace. :o( Mal was such a wonderful boy and it was such devastating news; although he had suffered problems since breaking his back and pelvis while racing, he truly made the most out of his retirement years given the health complications he faced. Trace said it, and I agree: He was probably the most perfect and saintly greyhound ever born on this earth. He was a very, very special guy.

Mal and Lucy rest at the Dewey Fun Run

I know this is totally anthropomorphizing, but after talking with Trace I knelt down next to Lucy and told her that Mally passed away. She met my eyes and then turned her head away, refusing to acknowledge me for almost a minute. It made me feel so bad. I sat next to her for a few hours after, and we watched TV without really watching. How awful to lose a dog ANYWAY, but on Christmas? How shitty is that? Why do things like this happen? Why did God give dogs such short lifespans- I mean ten? Eleven? Thirteen? Fourteen? TOO short. It just isn't fair.

Jen

Christmas Eve Romp

2009-12-26T18:43:00.000-05:00

Lucy has a "biscuit high" from all the treats she got on Christmas Eve. Run, girl, run!

Christmas Eve Chat with Kaya

2009-12-26T18:36:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve Skijor

2009-12-26T18:29:00.000-05:00

We've been lucky to have snow! And when Christmas Eve rolled around, I was REALLY ancy to go out skiing with the dogs again. It was perfect- overcast, mid -30's, no wind. First, Clifford and I drove over to the local community college and went for a 1-mile spin on the trails.

Isn't he a handsome gent? :o) I had given him a hit of "doggy crack" (Metacam) in the morning, and by afternoon he was revved. The 1-mile loop was just enough for him. In fact, he was so excited at the beginning that he bordered on out-of-control and I almost had to stop and take him to task. It was just like the old times! He got in and out of the car fine, didn't show any limpy-arthritis at all. Metacam is truly elixir of the Gods.

After I brought Clifford home, I loaded up Jack and we went for a 3-mile ski down the Erie Canal, starting in Port Byron and going halfway to Weedsport. I was SO psyched to see a Downy woodpecker and Red-Bellied Woodpecker at the start of the trail! Unfortunately I didn't have my telephoto lense, though, so pics came out poorly.

If that wasn't enough, we were skiing down the trail alongside the canal when a long, thick brown animal suddenly plunged off the trail down the bank. It was only a couple feet from Jack, and he paused in shock before diving at it. I dove at Jack at the same time, and thankfully the animal escaped safely down the bank. It went under the ice and was gone. I was (am) really perplexed because it LOOKED like a river otter, but I have never heard of river otters living around here - I thought they were more "wilderness" animals. I've seen muskrats at the canal, but this was too thick and long to be a muskrat; it was so otter-like in shape. Too big to be a weasel. So strange. I took a photo of tracks nearby the spot, and when I got home consulted my "Identifying Animal Tracks" book. I found the perfect tracks to match the photo, but the caption in the book said, "Walking track of the American Alligator." Oops. Okay, I'm NOT that good at reading animal tracks, I guess! I will have to brush up on that!!

Unfortunately the rain came in Christmas day, and the snow turned to mush, then to water, and then changed the ground to mud. Today (the day after Christmas) has been a steady downpour, and my yard is an absolute swamp. For now, the skis have been put away. :o( Where are my hip-waders??

Jen

Lucy's New Heated Bed Pad

2009-12-23T20:10:00.000-05:00

I ordered Lucy a special heated dog pad, since she's always chilly in the house. It arrived (YAY!), and I inserted into a nice soft candy-striped pink fleece. As you can see, she is totally enjoying it.

Hmpf.

Skiing with Greyhounds- Another Season Starts!

2009-12-23T20:04:00.000-05:00

Ummm... Cliff. Wrong way.

Last winter I decided to stop whining about the cold winters around here and embrace them instead... and I bought a pair of cross-country skis to go on winter outings with Cliff! The sport of skiing with dogs is called "Skijoring" and is a really fun activity. This is REAL skijoring:

Yeah, I don't do that. First of all, I can barely ski at slow-speed, much less FULL-speed. And second of all, my greyhounds would kill me in my sleep if I ever asked for them to actually PULL me, in a sled-dog type way. And that's what real skijoring dogs do.

These women are very brave and I am envious of them. If I was going that fast I would NOT be laughing.

This fall Cliff has really slowed down, and it seems that arthritis has really taken over his bad back leg. I need to get it x-rayed. I'm a little reluctant to go skijoring with Cliff unless it's a pretty short trip... first of all, I don't want him breaking trail (that's tough) and second of all, he really seems to experience pain in that leg getting in and out of the car (poor boy!). Makes it hard to drive to the trailhead. So, needless to say, I've been grooming young Jack to be my ski companion this winter.

First came harness and lead training this fall:

For the past few weeks, Jack has been getting special training sessions on the retractable lead. I am NOT the type of person to just throw my dog on a retractable and hope for the best. They can be dangerous in the hands of incompetent people, children, or daydreamers so it's important for dogs (especially sighthounds, imho) to really be trained to them and for their humans to be very aware of the environment they're walking their dogs through. Since adoption, we've been working on Jack's tendency to bolt at squirrels and cats on walks, and he's shown remarkable progress(remarkable in the fact that he's really not the brightest bulb in the package, and I mean that in the most loving way possible lol!). Once Jack began demonstrating excellent 6-foot leash manners, we slowly moved to the retractable (WITH secure safety of course... if you drop the leash, you don't want that plastic casing clanking on the ground after the dog, scaring it to bolt. I use an old trouser sock to tether the casing to my wrist. Not the sexiest accessory, but I wouldn't be without it!!). We've been testing the retractable in the neighborhood AND at the local nature trail, where rabbits, squirrels and even deer cross the trails in plain view. I've been very proud of my pup! He's showing great attentiveness to me on the lead, even more so than Cliff who has been using a retractable for years.

So anyway... with Jack's lead training going full-throttle and the first snow on the ground, we went off to the local A-F Trail earlier this week for our first skijor!

Yep, Jack did REALLY well. I'm proud! He was a bit nervous of my skiis when I pulled them out of the car, but once he got to sniff them, he was totally okay. He stayed out front as I skied (ski'ed? Skiid? How do you spell that?) almost the whole time.

Of course, we did have our moments....

There were quite a few potty stops. Can't let a scent go unmarked, of course!...

...and a few times, Jack decided off-trail was more interesting than ON-trail...

...Come back, Jack!

...But don't come THIS far back!

Anyway, it was a fun first outing. We got a lot more snow last night, too, so there will be more skijoring to come! Can't wait! Experiencing the woods in the winter is so special, even more so than in the summer I think. There is something so mysterious and -profound- about a snow-filled forest.

Example one, of my first ski outing with Cliff last winter. Bear Swamp. I hadn't been on skis in over a decade, forgot Cliff's harness, and was WAY overdressed (you get hot skiing- it's like jogging!). But man, the woods were spectacular. Take a look at that, have you ever seen anything so pretty in your life?

Jen

My Little Social Butterflies

2009-12-21T19:06:00.000-05:00

We had a busy weekend... I mean, most weekends seem to fly by anyway but this one was gone in less than 2 blinks.

This weekend the hounds had 2 playdates! Well there wasn't much playing, maybe "pee-dates" and "sniff-dates" would be more apt, because the urine was certainly flowing freely...

My parents were showing their house on Saturday, so they loaded up Amos and Benny* and came to our house for a visit. With four boys in the yard, there was a lot of marking, barking, marking, and marking. Lucy made a brief appearance but quickly went back inside (that black blob scurrying past the viewfinder? Yeah. Lol). She isn't fond of small dogs (or female dogs, or large dogs, or medium dogs, or wrinkly dogs, or active dogs, or...).

Of course, Amos was thrilled to hang out with his BFF, Clifford. I'm not sure the feeling was mutual, lol.

The next morning, Sunday, we babysat lovely Mercedes for a couple hours. Lots of wandering and sniffing, but no zooms or chases. With Lucy at 13 and Cliff and Mercedes at 11, I guess that era is behind us. And while Jack will occasionally gallop around the yard, it's really not his thing, especially if a ball isn't involved.

No balls here...

... of any kind!

I think Mercedes had a good time, and my pups seemed to enjoy the company! Two days in a row, too. They are becoming social butterflies!

Jen

*My parents still have Nightmare Alice, but their real estate agent said it was fine to leave her at the house when it was being shown or during an Open House since she is blind and just sits in the kitchen, staring at the wall. I'm not sure I'd want my smelly dogs in sight when trying to sell my home, but my parents are adamant that she is a fantastic Ambassa-dog for them. And they call ME crazy! Jeesh!

Jack Demonstrates his first learned command!

2009-12-16T21:29:00.001-05:00

It has taken ALL WEEK, but Jack finally learned his first word- "shake"! Watching Lucy and Clifford really seemed to help him learn the technique. I'm a proud momma tonight! :o)

New Etsy Listings & Art Mumbo Jumbo

2009-12-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

I meant to get these up on Etsy for awhile now but life got in the way! This is "Escape by a Hare"- a fun piece I did with Lucy as my model- kind of appropriate to post it up after her successful dental surgery I guess! It is available right now on yellow Lokta paper or off-white Kitakata. Free shipping to US and Canada still on until Jan 1, holiday promo!! :o) My Etsy Store

I am going to try to be a bit more proactive about my art in 2010. Well, I guess I should say I'm going to try to be a better MARKETER. I think most people who make art get a bit squeamish about marketing and I'm no exception, but it seems like there is more I can do. First of all, I would like to revamp my website. I did a quick re-design last month but I'd like to have my site AND blog under the same domain name. I do enough reading of art marketing books and websites, as well as haunt the Art Business forum on Wetcanvas, to know that if you aren't constantly updating your website and "freshening it" then people will stop visiting- and right now I only update a few times a year. :o( So I'm exploring Wordpress as a content-management site AND blog- all rolled into one- we'll see. Another thing I want to do is more promotions, and I'm thinking to perhaps have special promotions (sales?) in March, June and September in celebration of Jack's, Clifford's and Lucy's birthdays. Good idea? Corny??

And speak of the devil, Lucy was doing great this morning. She had a nice breakfast of home-baked beef/veggie cookies that I slaved over yesterday and also polished off a can of tuna. She refused the SD Dental Kibble that she was so heartily scarfing up yesterday, and also declined a bowl of yogurt (Clifford was happy to eat it for her, lol). It took her awhile to get out of bed (nothing unusual- she's not a morning person) but once up, she was her usual perky self. She used the dog door easily, and visited me in the bathroom while I was taking a shower (her m.o.). Her back-end isn't as saggy as it was the other day, either. However my boss told me this morning that anesthesia can stay in your body for up to 6 months (is this true?) so maybe she'll still be a bit shaky in the future?

Lunch hour is done- time to get back to work! Happy Monday everybody.

Jen

Lucy- Home Sweet Home

2009-12-13T17:44:00.001-05:00

Lucy's dental is done and my girl is home!

I was an absolute nervous wreck dropping her off at the hospital before work on Thursday... I mean, I literally felt like I had 20,000 butterflies eating away at my stomach lining. Poor Lucy looked as nervous as I felt... it's almost as if she knew what she was in for, lol. I could barely get her in the door, hauling her as well as her bed and a stinky old dog blanket from the car... we were a disaster. The techs were kind and let me go back and get her settled in her kennel run before I was whisked away and on my way to work, eating my fingernails with anxiety.

Doc B. called about an hour later, letting me know that they had started pre-op, and things were going well so far. I assumed that meant her blood work was fine and none of the techs had had their faces ripped off yet. She said she was a "good girl" (ha!) and that they'd call back in a bit.

It didn't seem very long before Doc G.*, who was to perform Lucy's dental, called to tell me they were done. I was surprised it went so fast. They only pulled out one tooth (the abscessed one). Doc G said that Lucy had difficulty with the anesthesia so they worked as fast as they could and then got her out of there. Apparently the anesthesia they usually use on greyhounds didn't touch her at all, so they switched to another, but she kept waking up during the procedure anyway, and had some difficulty breathing at times. She did maintain a steady heart rate through everything though. Still- the thought of her having difficulty gave me the shivers. They asked to keep her until late afternoon so they could keep her on the IV and monitor her a bit more.

What. A. Long. Afternoon. I did busy-work and ordered Lucy a heated dog-bed pad during lunch break. When 3 o'clock came my ass was flying out of work and speeding back to the city to pick my girl up. I did a quick stop at Kohl's and bought her a beautiful purple plush blanket to recover on - $25- I have never spent that kind of money on a blanket in my life! But it was so soft, and I knew Lucy would love it.

When I finally got to the vet's office, I had to wait about 20 minutes for the techs to bring Lucy out front. Not only did they have to take out the IV, but then Lucy got pissy and refused to leave the kennel. I guess it was nice they took so long to coddle her out instead of being more, uh, firm - it gave me time to pay the bill, go over her antibiotics, etc- but man Lucy, hurry your rump up! I want to see you! When she was finally walked out, she had a shaved leg and looked a little loopy, but was otherwise okay. Happy reunion!

When we got home, both boys were fascinated with her and wanted to sniff her. That wasn't the most surprising thing, though- when I brought her out to the backyard to pee, Jack became very fresh with her- jumping around her, lashing out at her and making snarly noises. Poor Lucy was wobbling like a tinker toy trying to find a place to pee, and Jack was being an absolute asshole. I couldn't tell whether it was predatory/bully behavior or play- but he wouldn't listen to me when I told him to knock it off, so I ran over before he could escalate and physically removed him from the situation. (Later I chalked it up to her stinking like the vet's office and blood and that riling him up, but then this morning Clifford fell in the kitchen and began screaming, and Jack ran over and began lashing out at him -not making contact but REALLY wanting to- snarling and behaving the same way. What does this mean? Pack dynamics? High-prey behavior? Combo?).

I slept on a dog bed with Lucy the first night, and took Friday off to monitor her. With the exception of a quick walkie with the boys and a trip to the hairdresser to lop my hair off, I stayed next to her the whole day. She slept a lot- mostly on blankets OTHER than the snuggly expensive purple one. :oP She slept most of Saturday too, but was definitely a bit perkier. She seemed to have trouble keeping her rump up though... she was walking and standing like someone kicked her in the butt... kind of droopy back there. Residual effects of the anesthesia? And not only that but she still finicky as ever! I thought the dental would make her more comfortable to eat, but she doesn't want to. Let me rephrase that: She wants to eat junk, like jerky treats, gnawesomes, and biscuits (even hard ones!) but doesn't want kibble, canned canine food, yogurt, Banquet TV dinners or even some pot pies I mic'ed for her.

Today I cooked up some hamburger and made hamburger-squash-pea-oatmeal-PB dog biscuits, just to get some nutrition in her. She loves them, so that's good. Took all afternoon- ugh, I hate cooking/baking. She's lucky I love her so much! :oP

She also loves the samples of prescription Science Diet tooth food that the vet gave us after her dental. Man, I HATE to have to buy her that crap but maybe I'll have to, if that's all she likes. I'm really not a SD fan at all.

Today Lucy has been barking at the wall and ceiling, so I assume she's back to her normally demented self. I can't wait for her heated dog-bed pad to arrive.... she is going to be in heaven!

Jen

*Not to be confused with Doctor G: Medical Examiner, the autopsy lady, from Discovery Health Channel, lol.

Santa & The Greyhounds...

2009-12-09T19:21:00.000-05:00

I would first like to thank everyone who have given their well-wishes to Lucy either via my blog, Facebook page, Etsy convo, email, etc. It has meant a lot to me! She goes in for her dental tomorrow and although I'm still a nervous wreck, I had a great conversation with her doctor last night, who laid out the whole surgery for me and answered all my questions. I'm feeling better. Someone remind me- no food after midnight! lol.

Also a huge thank you to everyone who has supported my art with your kind words and even purchases this holiday season. I've really been busy working on pet portraits and packaging up Etsy orders... thank you, thank you, thank you! (Lucy thanks you too!). :o)

I thought I would post some fun holiday-ish photos from the past few days. As you can see from the top photo, the hounds and I met "Santa" this past weekend in Liverpool at Canines Unleashed, a great doggie day-care facility. A bunch of other greyhounds were also in appearance, including our good friend Mercedes and Morgan (mix) with my friend Renee.

Santa's appearance was cause for celebration with the hounds. Jack was so excited he even attempted to lift his leg on St. Nick (played by our friend Wendy). Thankfully I caught him before anything trickled out, lol!

Clifford "talking" to Santa while Jack enjoys a butt scratch...

Lucy also enjoyed a cuddle with Santa... perhaps asking for a mouth of pearly whites this Christmas??

Renee and her two pups! Poor little Morgan was so afraid of Santa, she would only hold still if Renee came in the picture and held her, lol...

And then yesterday we got our first "real" snow! Hooray!

Jack spent the last year in Florida racing so I was interested in seeing how he reacted to the snow. Nothing huge... he just ran around with his silly tennis ball. Do I have a greyhound or a lab?

I was hoping it would stick and we'd get more, but today it's mostly melted, and rain is coming down hard. That means LOTS of mud being tracked through the dog door... lovely stuff! Speaking of which, I need to grab dinner and then mop. Later...

Jen

Free Shipping on All Art!

2009-12-05T21:00:00.000-05:00

I just get a kick out of this picture... taken a few years ago... don't Lucy and Cliff look thrilled?? :oD

Anyway, since it's that time of the year again... there are NO SHIPPING FEES on any of my prints now through the start of the New Year. Please visit my Etsy store and check it out!

Jennifer Zalewski Fine Art on Etsy

Linocut Doodles

2009-12-05T19:25:00.000-05:00

Boy, I got so riled up at the end of my last post I forgot to show the final images of my doodle linocuts! Here they are, "Adopt" and "Coy" (sigh, I need to come up with better titles in the future...). All on different scraps of beautiful Asian paper. I'm off to upload them into my Etsy store if you are interested...cute little original linocuts only $13 dollars each! Great stocking stuffers for the holidays! Proceeds go to the Lucy Dental Fund! :o)

Original Greyhound Linocuts on Etsy.com

Linos from Leftovers

2009-12-05T19:07:00.000-05:00

This week I wanted to work on some small linocuts made from little doodles I've drawn. I've had a few small leftover pieces of linoleum, as well as some leftover odd-pieces of Asian paper (Kitakata, Mulberry, and Lokta) that were too small to use for my normal 8 x 10 pieces. What to do with all this 'leftover' stuff? I hated to throw it away (or, in the paper case, put it in the recycle bin) so I decided to sketch some small-sized drawings to use the extra supplies up.

I used to be an incorrigible doodler, but all of this changed in college. I remember my freshman year economics professor announcing to the class one time, "I see my lecture must be really boring because Jennifer is drawing dogs all over her notebook." Of course, as a shy, impressionable freshman I was MORTIFIED. He totally meant it in good humor and for the rest of my undergrad years would tease me about this EVERY time he saw me. Even today, working at my alma mater, he will run into me at faculty/staff receptions and lectures and tell anyone who will listen, "I used to have Jennifer in my economics class and I always knew I was getting boring when I looked over and there she was, drawing dogs all over her notebook..." And the other faculty members will laugh and nod their heads, and I realize they must have seen me doodling all the time too, lol. But they were discreet enough not to publically call me on it. :o)

Anyway, I came up with some small doodles this week at work (during lunch hour, NOT meetings- I was good!), transferred those to my leftover pieces of oddly shaped linoleum pieces, and used some of my leftover water-based Daniel Smith ink (I switched to oil-based Graphic Chemical a few years ago) and printed on leftover pieces of paper. I didn't use a press, but instead brought everything to my downstairs drawing studio and worked by hand.

Here's the setup, on my fake Oriental rug (NOT the best idea when you are messy like I am!! But thankfully I didn't get any ink on the carpet). My little linocut, all inked and ready to print:

Once inked, I turned my linoleum block over onto a piece of Kitakata paper, and rubbed the two together with a wooden spoon:

Yay! This is the fun part- pulling the block and paper apart and seeing what you get. I was a bit nervous because I usually "mount" my piece of linoleum to a piece of plywood or MDF for stability, but the lino alone seemed to work this time:

Lots of little "adopt" doodles, laying out to dry!:

I did another little linocut doodle of a little coy girl (Lucy was my model) - the photo of the block is at the top of this post. Here it is all printed on my scraps of leftover paper and set out to dry:

No laughing at my Mac Davis record in the background!!! "Hard to Be Humble" was my first LP- my Mom bought it for herself back in the day and eventually gave it to me sometime when I was in elementary school. I listened to that thing until it was scratched to pieces and absolutely unusable. A few years ago I found a company in Canada who had a non-scratched version of "Hard to be Humble" and they converted it to CD for me, and then sent me the CD and album to go with it. Score!! My original album, scratched to pieces, is framed in my bedroom and this copy sits in my art studio. Ah, Mac Davis. The only country singer I ever loved.... sigh. He just rocks.

My studio company for the evening:

Lucy Goosey (or, "Stinky Mouf") was such a good girl and napped on the couch all evening while I printed, snoring and farting away. Her dental is scheduled for December 10. To encourage her to eat, I've been trying to get ANYTHING into her system, including the crappiest dog food Ever (That Moist N'Meaty garbage, and Beneful wet food that comes in those plastic tubs). When that fails I give her "DogSure", which is a canine version of Ensure but must be made with pearls because it is $8 PER can (which is half a serving for a greyhound), Banquet TV dinners, cups of yogurt, Turkey Pot Pies, Chicken nuggets, Little Cesar pizza and Crazy Bread, ice cream, etc etc. This means she has the worst gas on Planet Earth and my wallet is the lightest wallet in the county but I'm feeling so guilty about her mouth. It must really be sore. :o( I can understand why she wouldn't want to eat certain things and to be honest, I'm so worried she might pass away during surgery that I want to make sure her (potentially) last week on earth is totally awesome and she gets to splurge and eat whatever garbage she wants. Am I totally insane? This upcoming dental surgery is making me a nervous wreck.

Speaking of nervous wrecks, my parents' house went up on the market last week. And it suddenly occurred to me that my 3 childhood dogs, buried at the back of the property, are also being sold with the house. I had (what I thought) was the great idea to have their bodies exhumed and moved to the pet cemetary about 30 miles away which is not a big deal, right? That way, they will be in a beautiful public cemetary with kindred canine spirits, and I can visit anytime I want. Well, Mom and Dad FLIPPED when I told them my plans. I started balling, Dad was yelling at me (I believe some of the phrases were: "They are dead and gone, why do you want their bodies!" "They don't have souls!" "What are you so upset about, it's been years!" "Maybe you need to see a mental health specialist!" "You are WAY too attached to animals!" "You need to see a doctor!" "What is it with you and those dogs!" "Why are you crying, they're dead and don't matter anymore!"etc etc). This, coupled with their not-so-subtle insistence that I need to euthanize Lucy instead of pay to have her teeth cleaned and abscess taken care of, because you know she's old and doesn't matter anymore apparently) has TOTALLY pushed me over the edge. Suddenly I've become the family freak. How did that happen?

Which, I mean, hello. I know I'm a bit crazy about SOME things (Am I the only one who wants to be tazered, just to see what it feels like?) but I'm NOT crazy about my feelings towards dogs. I mean, they are the best things on this planet and I just adore them to pieces. Yes, I would max out my credit card on their vet bills. Yes, I will spend half my paycheck on their food, toys, rawhides, vet care, treats, stuffies, coats and collars. Yes, I will build my vacations around doing fun outings with them. Yes, I consider them my family and on equal terms with any human being. Yes, I believe they have souls and deserve the absolute best care I can provide to them and I consider it a true blessing for them to share their lives with me. I would rather spend time with my greyhounds than anyone else on this planet. Cuckoo, cuckoo! Whatever.

Well, this post has turned into quite the venting session. Sorry about that.

Signing off for now,
Your friendly blogging Lunatic :oP

Christmas Comes Early

2009-12-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

It's always fun to get art supplies in the mail! Graphic Chemical was running a sale the other week* and of course I HAD to order. I was low on black ink anyway, so that was my excuse. I also ordered a slew of Stonehenge paper (my fave), some other colored inks and also new battleship linoleum. This is a special lino that GC imports from Europe- some special linseed formula is used in its makeup- it's supposed to be the cat's meow. I can't wait to try it.

Jen

*If you have a profile on Facebook, be sure to "friend" ("fan?") GC as they post special discounts for Facebook folks. :)

What to do, what to do...

2009-11-29T17:47:00.000-05:00

I am calling my vet tomorrow morning...Lucy needs a dental, but it seems even more important now that I discovered a "hole" underneath one of her gray teeth. It seems you can look in and see the root of the tooth, right through the gum? My poor girl! It must be so painful.I am kicking myself that I didn't notice it before now. I've been keeping my eye on her front gray teeth... I haven't noticed that side one. Arg!! Hindsight... no wonder her smelly mouth has gotten even smellier than usual, and that she's gotten even more picky with her food. Oh, my poor Lucy! I am such a bad person not to have noticed this!!!

I'm getting a lot of family pressure to "put her down"--that she's old, it's not worth the $800 (high estimate of the range I got), that it's unfair to put her through surgery at 13 1/2. I realize that she might not survive surgery, but my God... how can I put her down?? She's pretty healthy for her age, knock on wood! My parents are concerned about my finances... the college I work at is doing very badly, and there's a huge chance I might not have a job next year. Hell, I might not have a job next week. I barely have the $$ in the bank to cover the surgery. If I get her surgery, then I have no savings account left and what the hell happens if I lose my job? How am I going to afford Lucy's and Clifford's care?? (Thank God Jack is young and healthy, knock on wood!). How do I pay my mortgage?

There is really no debate in my mind. Lucy is going in for dental surgery. Putting her to sleep is NOT an option. If she survives the surgery, I am so worried my parents will be disappointed in me for spending that money (although jeez, I'm 33, why am I so concerned about their approval? Why that anxiety?). But if I do the surgery, and she passes away during the teeth extraction, I will never be able to live with myself for putting her through it. It makes me sick to my stomach, even thinking about it. She was having some breathing issues this summer in the heat, what if she has a stroke under anesthesia? Or sufficates??

The pressure of doing the right thing for Lucy, coupled with Clifford's worsening lameness (is it the corn? Arthritis? Cancer?) pressured with the realization that I should probably begin job searching and interviewing seriously now (that alone makes me feel sick), that there are few jobs in my town so I may have to sell my home and move (or do a long commute), that I have barely any money saved in the bank... wow. Stress. It has been difficult feeling thankful this Thanksgiving holiday. I AM thankful for Xanax, though. LOL. It seems the only thing that is getting me through the past few weeks.

I did get 4 pet portrait commissions within the last few weeks! Yay! That $$ will go straight into the Lucy Dental Fund. I was so upset and desperate yesterday that I even went to Walmart to apply to work over the holidays, but they were done with holiday hiring- that's out- I hope I can sell more work via my Etsy store. It has been slow this season. :o(

This has been a depressing post. I'll end with a cute photo. Lucy was sleeping on the couch, and Jack snuck up next to her. He has the most guilty look on his kisser, lol. While Lucy enjoys getting up on the couch with Jack if he's there first, she usually won't let him up if she is up there first (she's not into sharing!). Jack REALLY likes the couch though, and as soon as Lu dozed off, he snuck up lol.

Some other happy photos:

My happy boy Clifford. Cliff doesn't let ANYTHING bother him. He loves to talk...but as you can see, he is carefully watching me to make sure I'm paying attention! :o) I wish I had Cliff's joie de vivre. He really thinks he has the world by the b-lls. :o)

Jack has started cockroaching!! I guess that means he is settling in and liking us. And I do love him, he's a great pup. He does drive me insane at times.... sigh... I guess I should expect nothing less from a teenager. :oP

Lucy's mouth situation has really driven home how important it is to keep the pups' teeth as clean as possible so we won't have to do any more dentals. Raw turkey necks (NOT cooked) have a reputation for really cleaning up dogs' teeth. The bones are edible because in raw form they are very spongy and not brittle at all. Sooo... Jack and Cliff have begun getting weekly necks. They are disturbingly phallic and disgustingly slimy, but the boys love them (Lucy, even in her younger days, wouldn't touch raw meat with a 10 foot pole. I don't blame her!).

Last but not least, my suet feeder finally had a visitor... a Black Capped Chickadee! I got some fun pictures with the telephoto lense on my camera. I was a surprised a chickadee would eat suet (I thought only woodpeckers did) but it's all good. As long as those glutonous, pesky squirrels don't eat it... any kind of bird is good for me!

Back to work tomorrow. I am nervous about it. :o(

Jen

Learning to use the Press, Sketching, and All that Jazz

2009-11-23T20:42:00.000-05:00

I've been practicing on my new press: The first few prints I pulled were pretty poor (uneven pressure) but with a "sliding board" (plexiglass sheet in the pic above) and some felts, the problem was solved. I was able to print some really nice prints from it... YAY!

I've also been working on the sketch for a new reduction print. My model for this one is Cliff:

My original drawing is on the top... the others are photocopies of my drawing... I had to bring it to Staples and shrink it a bit to fit on my linoleum piece! Thankfully I only had to "try" twice, so it was only 14 cents. I hate having to make a gazillion photocopies, trying to get it JUST RIGHT for the block. Waste of money and paper! But by golly, no matter how much I try I cannot draw my original drawing to the exact size I want it. It's always too big... always. :o)

This reduction will be challenging because the dog bed is laying on an oriental rug. Ack! I've never even drawn an oriental rug, much less carved and did a reduction of one. AND I haven't done a reduction in almost 8 months, because I had such a high failure rate and got discouraged... Gulp. I need to get back on the horse, but I'm sooo nervous.

In the meantime I'm doing a quick sketch for a 1-color linocut that I want to enter in the Art Show at the Dog Show this year. I'll try that before the reduction-it will be nice practice on my new press.

I have 4 pet portraits I'm doing for 'clients' (customers?) for holiday presents too. Three will be in charcoal, and one will be in oil pastel. And my brother Jeff asked that I do 2 "historical" pieces for his new apartment- one the Roman Colosseum and another a 1940's era Berlin cityscape (he is a history Ph.D. candidate with a specialty in WW2)...each 22 x 30... this will be challenging... haven't done buildings in years much less that huge scale.

Will I have time to do my Xmas cards? 2-color reduction of junco's (winter birds up here)... dunno. Not looking hopeful although my sketch is done. I may have to skip Xmas cards this year... sigh.

And I'll end this post with a cutie picture of the three hounds. I hung some suet from my backyard birch tree in hopes of drawing in some Hairy and Downy woodpeckers to photograph. The dogs came outside with me to hang out, but only Jack was really "intrigued" by the suet. I think he really wanted to eat it- crazy dog.

Building a Printing Press- Part 4,569?? The Press is Finished!

2009-11-16T20:42:00.000-05:00

Dad and I finished my printing press on Sunday! Here it is, complete and ready for the ride back to my house~! I am so excited. I had sooo much fun building this- working with Dad, learning some carpentry skills, and making such a cool machine!

Now I just need to learn to use it, LOL.

Jen

Building a Printing Press- Part 5

2009-11-16T20:17:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I went to Mom and Dad's house and worked on my press... and finished it!! Here is Saturday's work: Building the Jack Ram cup and putting the assembly together.

The Jack ram cup was formed from electrical socket junction box covers. This was basically taking a round, flat metal cover, bending the sides with a hammer, and cutting it down with a hacksaw. I used a dremel to get the cuts started (making grooves... boy, does the dremel on metal make sparks fly!). This is the final product... a bit misshapen, but it will work (I hope lol):

After I finished the jack ram cup... it was time to put the press together!

Here is the frame of the press....done! YAY!

Around 6 or so, my brother John arrived and we decided to call it quits for Game Night (we usually play Saturday nights). Guess who won Scrabble that night? Me!!! :o) Winning Scrabble is almost as satisfying as building the press, lol. So Saturday was a good day (well, despite my early-morning discovery of Lucy's toe, that is!).

Jen

Lucy's been overdue...

2009-11-16T19:53:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been a couple years since Lucy visited the ER, so it was time for my accident-prone girl to break the dry spell. Thankfully she didn't flay herself down the side by running into a fence (2002), flay herself over the back and down the side by cutting a corner to fast and catching her skin on the bumper of the parked camper (2007) - this time she only (thankfully) somehow managed to flay the top of one of her back toes- took the top layer of skin and the fur right off!

I'm embarrassed to say... I came home from work Thursday and Lucy seemed really stiff. She was also really stiff on Friday. I chalked it up to the arthritis in her lower spine, and just gave her some extra Deramaxx. It never occurred to me that the humpity-stiff posture and minced walking would be from a toe ( I assumed, if it was foot-related, she would have been walking on 3 legs. I guess I learned something!)! Saturday morning I sat down with her on the couch after breakfast, went in to snuggle, noticed the purple, puss-filled toe and freaked!

Thankfully my vet has emergency hours on Saturday and had room to look at Lucy. Not sure what happened- did Jack step on her (he's prone to trample when he gets excited)? Did she catch it in the dog door? Whatever happened, it turned the toe purple and swelled it up pretty badly. Saturday the swelling was so bad, the toe kind of overlapped her little toe next to it... ick. After it was shaved and lanced, the size has gotten smaller and it is looking better.

Poor Lucy has 4 pills (antibiotics) a day to take for the next 10 days! She is a Picky Patty anyway, and "tricking" her into eating horse-sized pills is a nightmare. One I can cut up, because it is a pill-pill, but the other is a capsule. Arg. So far I have hid the mediciine in lumps of butter, wads of bread, and pieces of hot dog- and the wench found them every time, and spit them out unceremoniously! This is going to be a long 10 days.

Extra gentle snuggling ordered for Lucy! :)

Jen

P.S.- The vet said it could also be a mass (cancer) but I don't think it is. I dremel Lucy's nails every month or so, and would have noticed any mass growing on her toes. I'm thinking the toe got caught somewhere and the skin tore.

Sketching

2009-11-13T12:55:00.000-05:00

Working on some sketches of the hounds- Cliff at the top, Lucy at the bottom. Lu's muzzle is a bit off... too squat or short, or something. Clifford's eyes have been driving me insane... eyes are the hardest part, especially on a straight- or 3/4- view. I struggled for hours with them last night! Finally just erased them off, and will try again after work today.

I know a lot of people just trace photographs and that is how they get their preliminary drawings, but I find a lot of satisfaction from drawing without tracing anything, even though it takes much (much, much, lol) longer and can really be frustrating at times. I go through a lot of erasers!! I use photos for references, but photos lie a lot especially with anatomy and perspective, so I don't rely on them too much. Not only that, but I (personally) like to look at something, internalize it, filter it through my head, and then let that image out through my fingers, with pencil or carving tool- so the "picture" actually has a little "me" in it. I'm not sure if that makes any sense?

I'm lucky that Lucy is a great model! So is Cliff, of course, but if I'm looking at a photo for a drawing reference and something looks 'off,' doesn't feel right, is too dark/blurry to make out- Lucy is a real champ at letting me examine her anatomy to double-check. How many times has she rolled over on her side for me so I could count her nipples and make sure I don't draw in too many (or too few)?? How many times have I asked her for her paw, so I could more closely examine toe shape and feel out the bones beneath the skin? Lots of times! :o) Clifford will allow me to do SOME prodding, but usually gets up and leaves in a huff if he feels I'm asking too much.

Jack is shaping up into a good model too, in that he will allow me to flop him around to get a good drawing angle, or check his teeth, toes, etc. If he's feeling sassy though, he'll sometimes mistake my prodding for playtime, and start play-mouthing, kicking, pawing, etc.

And speaking of Jack... he did his first Roach the other day! I didn't get a pic (he moved when I went to grab the camera) but the next night he did it again, and I got a cute photo. This morning he tried to invite Cliff to play with a few playbows and flips- wow! So the boys may be making strides in their relationship. That is very exciting!

Jen

Building a Printing Press- Part 4

2009-11-13T09:38:00.000-05:00

Some photos from last Sunday... just got around to uploading them this morning before work. Sigh. The week has gotten away from me... and to be honest, I've just been lazy at night after work. I believe this has totally stemmed from my eating getting away from me... when you eat junk all day you just don't have the energy that you do eating a healthy, vegetarian diet. Twizzlers, cake, lattes, pop tarts and donuts give you great energy for a half hour, but after that... CRASH. Oh, but they are so delish... my sweet tooth (teeth) are out of control... need to rein myself in. I can hardly fit into my pants anymore! So bad! :o(

Anyway, on Sunday I worked exclusively on building the base of my new printing press. I drove over to Mom and Dad's, and they were out shopping, so I let myself in and decided to go to work myself. I hoped Dad wouldn't feel bad that I started without him, but was really excited to see if I could "do it myself" so to speak. And use all those power tools without cutting off a finger or something. :o)

First, the dogs and I went out into the big yard to play for about an hour. After that, I was able to haul their beds into the garage workshop and settle them in while I worked (without MUCH complaint, except from whiney-boy Cliff). Amos, Cliff's BFF, came down to join us but "Fatty McHumpleby", as I've taken to calling him, wouldn't stop sucking on Cliff's leg and trying to hump his shoulder, so I made him go back upstairs.

I first used Dad's drill press to make holes and attach brackets to the bottom 2x4 pieces...

I'm not as precise as Dad is, and so I...um... may have not measured as correctly as I should have. So I had to use his hand-held drill to go back in and make new holes for the brackets I mis-aligned. Dad came in at this point, helped me fix my mistakes, and took some pictures of me working (man, is my hair really that God-awful orange? I hope it's the camera flash adding some of that florescent-ness). If you notice, I'm wearing SHORTS! We had an Indian Summer day on Sunday, and it got into the 70's!!! Crazy.

This is the bottom of the press (it's upside down). All finished... and I put it together almost all by myself! I love learning carpentry skills...

Here it is, right-side up. The brown MDF board is the press bed. I'm not sure I like the brown and gray together, so I might re-paint the gray at some point. My bottle jack is bright red, though, so maybe it will spruce it up!:

Tomorrow (Saturday) I'm going back over to Mom and Dad's in the afternoon and I'm really, really, REALLY hoping to get this baby finished. I want to use it!! I'm working on several sketches at this point for new linocuts I'd like to get ready for my Etsy store for the holidays, and I need to design a Christmas card! I wasn't sure I was going to do them this year because of expenses (*coughLucyandClifford'svetbillscough*) but they are so fun and a great way to keep in touch and let family and friends know you are thinking of them.

So much to do!!

Jen

Big Apple Trip for NY Print Fair '09

2009-11-10T13:38:00.001-05:00

After finding out about the NY Print Fair from Annie B. last week, I decided to hop a bus to the Big Apple on Saturday and check it out. Galleries of woodcuts, linocuts and etchings? Hooray! It was a 5 1/2 hour ride down, and almost 6 hours back, but Mom happily agreed to check on the dogs for me, so it made a do-able (but LONG) day trip. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera, but that's okay.

The morning didn't start off so well. Okay, I got up at 4 AM, had the dogs fed and gave them some pampering to tide them over until Mom came for dinner feeding. The day was going to be clear but very cold (low 40's at the most), so I decided to wear jeans, my spring jacket (which is lined) with a sweater underneath, plus bring gloves. Unfortunately I realized that my jeans were all in the hamper, but I didn't want to wear work pants (uncomfortable-yuck), so I just grabbed the pair of jeans off the top of the hamper, figuring they were pretty clean. I had only worn them once or twice and its not like I work out in them or anything. So it wasn't until 6:30 AM, when I'm sitting on the bus in the Syracuse terminal ready to begin the long haul south, when I realize there is dried diarrhea down the front of my jacket and down the leg of one of the jeans. WTH!!! Apparently, one of my poop bags must have had a hole in it yesterday on Cliff and Jack's walk, and the diarrhea leaked out all over me!!! OMG I was so embarrassed!! Once the bus went dark and started on the road, I furtively tried chipping off as much as I could, but I couldn't get it all. Sigh. I can't believe I didn't notice that before I left the house!! Talk about walking humiliation.

Anyway.

Having only 8 hours to cover everything in New York, I decided to start out at the NYC Public Library (which had a GLORIOUS exhibit of early Manhattan lithographs... if you are a NY or map buff, it is a must-see.). This was probably the highlight of my trip. Seeing the streets, fields and forests of Manhattan mapped out in the 1700's and 1800's was really amazing... how much things change. Since I lived in Queens and Brooklyn at one point (or two points, I should say) I was really fascinated to see how those burroughs developed, street by street, through the decades. And how things changed when the island was handed off by the Dutch to the English.

Upon leaving the library, I was pleased to see a naked man, wearing only a navy-blue thong and navy-blue knee socks, hopping up and down the library steps in a theatrical display. He had "NY Yanks" written across his back and chest, and was making quite a scene for the tourists. He looked EXACTLY like Freddy Mercury, so I joined the crowd staring at him, too- I mean, the resemblence was REALLY uncanny. Not only was his dance strange, but it was 35 degrees out! I mean, FREEZING COLD, wind snapping, and the guy was dancing around in only a thong and knee socks. This is what I miss about living in NYC. We have Whackadoodles that live up here in northern NY, but our Whackadoodles are no where near as amusing as City whackadoodles (and I say that with a heart full of affection).

Well, onto the galleries. There were maybe 10-15 galleries highlighting printmaker artists, but I have to say I was rather disappointed. The art was really modern and abstract... not my thing at all. I did see a wonderful moku-hanga print by Annie on exhibit which totally blew me away, and one other landscape that was so intricately beautiful I couldn't believe it, but everything else was abstract squares, lines, splotches, etc. For the life of me I still cannot "get" modern art. I went into these galleries trying my best to understand what made a woodcut of a rectangle so awesome, or the etching of 2 vertical lines, but... man. I just don't, don't get it. To take a break from the abstract prints I kept seeing, I went up to the Fuller Building in Midtown, which is chock-full of galleries... I seem to remember hearing that Midtown art was more traditional/conservative than the art exhibited in Chelsea...lol. Nope, not at this building. Out of the 10 or so galleries I visited, only two were representative art... one of portraits, one of landscapes. The rest were splotches, lines, etc. Meh.

After the disappointment of not seeing any real shows that inspired me, I went to a few art stores to hopefully buy some GC ink and maybe some linoleum. I only found Speedball inks (ick) and the linoleum seemed really hard. I was hoping all the big art stores in NYC would have a good variety of printmaking materials but not so much. :o( New York Central had a fabulous paper department, but it was so hot and crowded in there that I couldn't even look at the samples- wall to wall art students shopping- it must have been 90 degrees and I was bundled in a sweater and [poopy] jacket. Way too hot and crowded- Didn't stay long.

I then stopped at a place near Macy's and gave my ears a second set of holes- I have wanted to do that for awhile. I can't remember when I got my first set of holes, but it was 6th or 7th grade. As I was sitting in the chair and the earring woman was loading the gun, I started to think, "Hmmm. Maybe getting my ears pierced before a 6 hour bus ride isn't the smartest thing," but I persevered and did it anyway. It hurt, but in a very exciting sort of way. I actually wanted her to keep shooting my ears with it. I don't know what that says about me?!? Lol.

Subway fare is up to $2.50 a ride!! It was $1.50 when I lived in the city, and it wasn't that long ago- late '90's, early aughts. Boy oh boy. Because of that, I walked most of the day (and have the calluses to prove it) instead of bus and subway-ing it. I did treat myself to one cross-town ride on the L, but that was it.

At 7:30, I made my way back to Port Authority to catch my bus. The bus down had been a Trailways, and the bus home would be a Greyhound. I was kind of surprised that on our Greyhound bus, the driver has this plexi-glass (bullet proof glass?) partition that he folded out and used to cage all the passengers in the back! I guess it was to protect himself from hijacking or something, but if he had a heart attack and died... there would have been no way for the passengers to get out once he closed and locked the door. Has anyone ever seen this on a bus before?? (Many thanks to Trace, who just sent me this lovely Greyhound bus story and warns about the dangers of being partitioned in back with the other passengers, who may be a BAD sort of whackadoodle. Thanks Trace!).

We got back to the Syracuse bus station at 1:30 AM, and then I had another 40 minute trip home from there. Finally got home, horsed with Clifford and Jack for a bit (Lucy was fast asleep and never heard me come in, poor thing). By 3 AM, we were all sound asleep, with poopy jeans and poopy jacket headed straight for the wash!! And all's well that end's well in the Zalewski household- at least for this trip. :o)

Jen

History/Herstory- Lucy, Clifford and Jack

2009-11-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

I posted a "new" blog post yesterday, but because I started it on the 16th, it posted under "October 16." Which stinks, because it's a really fun post so I wish it was at the top of my blog! Oh well... Here's the link. Anyway, I've been in touch with Jack's racing owner, as well as the kennel that whelped him, and HOLY CRAP I GOT PUPPY PICTURES!!!! So be sure to check out the link for utterly cute squee-worthy brindle puppy cuteness. And I'm not a puppy person, so that's saying something! :o)

That has also got me thinking about Lucy and Clifford's racing careers. Of course, after adoption I right away went to bat searching for pedigrees, long-lost siblings, racing info, etc. I wasn't as lucky with them as I was with Jack, but I thought I'd share some of their "history and herstory" with you. :o)

I wanted to start with Lucy, but Blogger imported her JPG to the bottom of my post and I can't move it for some reason. WTH? So, we'll start with Cliff since his stuff imported to the top.

I was lucky with Cliff in that my great friend Bridget was part of the group that travelled to the racetrack to pick him out. That's right, Cliff was hand-picked especially for yours truly. And B will forever be in my heart for picking me such a special boy!! Anyway... Clifford came with a little strip of paper summarizing his last few races. I dont' know what this is called, but I got one with Lucy too.

Cliff's summary:

This gives Clifford's racing name and a little sentence about him (gender, birthday, sire and dam etc.), the dates of his races, the location (PL- Plainfield Greyhound Park in Connecticut), some numbers that confuse me to this day, and then the description of his performance in each race. You can see what they said about him- "Early Factor, Bumped First Turn, No Threat," etc. Well, if he was a stunning racer on his last few races he probably wouldn't have been retired, so I expect most people see poor comments on their racing slips (or whatever these are called). On the far right are the dogs that actually ended up winning that race.

This is Clifford's Official NGA Bertillion:

A Bertillion is where each dog's color and markings are recorded- right down to the toenail color! As you can see, Cliff is marked Red with mostly "dark" colored toenails (he seems more Red Fawn to me than Red, but whatever). His ear tattoos are at the top of the paper. The Right Ear tatoo of a greyhound holds all their birth/litter info in 3 digits! "68G" means that Cliff was born in the month of June (6th month) in 1998 (8 represents 1998) and his was the 7th puppy (G is the 7th letter) of the litter to be tattoed. Therefore: 68G. The left tattoo is made up of random numbers to mark the individual.

This is Cliff's official NGA registration certificate. All racing greyhounds are registered with the NGA (National Greyhound Association), as compared to the AKC or UKC. "Pet" scrawled across the certificate means he was released from racing to be adopted out:

Now we'll move on to Jack. This is Jack's NGA Registration Certificate. I dont' know why it wasn't cancelled out, but I only got a copy, not the original.:

If you notice something familiar about his pedigree... yes that's right, Jack's paternal grandsire is Clifford's father! I have two genuine My Rooster boys (okay let's me honest, so do thousands of other people thanks to the miracle of artificial insemination, but still- it feels kind of nice and cozy to have them related.) :o)

Jack's Bertillion is a bit more interesting than Clifford's because he has white tuxedo markings. I am still puzzled why he was registered as a "Brindle." Not that I'm a color expert, but he seems very Dark Brindle to me- much darker than other Brindles (and in case you are wondering, the NGA accepts greyhounds in several different shades of brindle: Black brindle, Dark Brindle, Brindle, Red Brindle, Light Brindle, Blue Brindle).

I didn't get a summary of Jack's racing with his adoption packet, but I found it somewhere on line before... I need to print that out.

And now onto Miss Lucy!!

Poor Lucy... her adoption group didn't provide me with an NGA certificate or Bertillion, so I don't have much on her at all. I did get a summary of her last few races though. As you can see, she also raced at Plainfield (PL). I'm pretty sure the "D" column means she raced at Grade D. Grade A is the fastest, most competitive grade, and I think Grade "J" is the slowest and least competitive (Jack retired racing Grade J, lol). Grade "M" is Maiden (or schooling) races.

I did have a nice surprise with Lucy, though. Like Jack, I was able to get in touch with her racing owner (although he didn't have a website or email). He wrote me a nice letter saying he was happy that she found a nice home, and that she got into a few scraps with other greyhounds during her time at the track. ROFL! Ah, Lucy, Lucy. Well, some things never change...

Lunch break is over. That's it for this exciting installment of Jen & the Greyhounds!

Jen

Greyhound (& Pug) Playdate!

2009-11-01T19:53:00.005-05:00

Today has been sooo busy. I spent the day at Mom and Dad's, hanging out with them, working on my printing press, and having a greyhound (and pug) playdate!

My friend Renee met me at my parents' house. She lives about 7 miles north of them (and I live about 8 miles south) so it's a nice meeting point. Plus, my parents have a half-acre fenced in making it a great play area. Renee brought Mercedes (11 y.o. light brindle grey) and Morgan (1 y.o. brindle grey/dachshund? mix). Combined with Amos (the only pug that would come out to play) and Jack and Clifford (Lucy was sleeping inside), it made for a fun afternoon.

Mercedes gallops around the yard...

Jack playing with a ball...

Mercedes, Clifford, and Jack...

Amos and Morgan play...

Morgan dashes by Amos and Cliff...

Mercedes and Clifford get frisky...

Sniff pile! Jack, Amos, Mercedes and Cliff...

Jack bolting across the yard with the blue ball...

Jack, Mercedes and Morgan...

And this picture, which I love. Renee found Cliff's *favorite* scritch spot. Look at that grin on his kisser! :o)

Building a Printing Press- Part 3

2009-11-01T19:12:00.002-05:00

Spent today at Mom and Dad's house, hanging out with the dogs and working on the printing press (oh, and visiting with the parents and my friend Renee, too!). Dad showed me how to use a hacksaw to cut threaded steel and slotted steel bars (which will be used as the sides of the press). I used a metal file to smooth the ends and remove burs.

Of course, since it was ME doing the cutting and not Dad, all my pieces of threaded steel came out different lengths. :o( It won't matter too much, but kind of embarrassing. I measured and all.. what happened?? Oh well.

I also worked on getting the bottom parts of the press ready for assembly... priming, painting, etc. Fun stuff!
I'm hoping to get this baby finished within the next couple weekends or so-?!?

Jen

Building a Printing Press- Part 2

2009-10-30T20:22:00.002-04:00

On we go... more work on the printing press!

This is the piece of wood (well, actually 3 pieces glued/screwed together) that Dad and I worked on last week. I've primed it, and painted it gray with enamel paint.

Next step was to make the press bed, platen, and stiffner. Dad used his tablesaw to cut them out of 3/4" sheets of MDF into each piece (side note: Can you fit 3 greyhounds with attitudes, 1 testy human, and 2 huge sheets of MDF in a little Scion xB and then drive it to your parents' house, the longest 10 miles in your life?? Answer: Yes, but I don't recommend it!! LOL!).

Dad refused to let me use the tablesaw to cut the sheets of MDF. Apparently the time I accidentally ran my hand through the sewing machine will be held against me for life! Well, Dad cut the MDF beautifully, saving all 10 of my fingers from ruin. Afterwards, I brought them home and coated them with 2 layers of polyeurathane, which will keep any dampness from warping the boards. It will also (hopefully) make them easy to wipe clean if I get any ink on them. We had some beautiful, warm fall days during the week that made painting outdoors a delight!

Jack and Lucy (BFF's??) enjoyed napping in the yard while I worked. Clifford popped out of the house occassionally to check on us but spent most of the time eating grass along the fenceline and pee'ing on my brussel sprout plants. :oP

Part 3 will hopefully be coming this weekend!

Jen

Building a Printing Press- Part 1

2009-10-25T19:18:00.004-04:00

Last week, I roped Dad into helping me build a new printing press that was designed by Charles Morgan of Mossworks Studio. I wanted to do it myself, but I'm glad I asked Dad- he has real power tools and is a bit more, um, particular about getting measurements right, lines straight... you know how it goes. So even though I'm giving up a lot of construction control, I know it is going to be done right. :o) Dad is an expert in the woodworking/construction/all-around-fix-it field.

We spent several hours measuring and cutting 3 2x4's, glueing and screwing them together. They are going to form the top brace of the press. A bottle jack will be attached to this eventually.... that will be the mechanism that applies pressure and (hopefully) allows me to pull linocuts and woodcuts.

Word Up!

2009-10-25T19:15:00.001-04:00

Fall in Central NY

2009-10-25T18:34:00.007-04:00

Fillmore Glen (Moravia):

Auburn-Fleming Trail (Auburn):

Sapsucker Woods (Ithaca):

Highland Forest (Fabius):

...and the backyard :o)

Squirrel Alert!

2009-10-25T18:32:00.001-04:00

Jack goes ballistic whenever he sees squirrels in the yard. Clifford and Lucy are just along for the ride. :o)

Sharpening my Pencils

2009-10-22T14:36:00.002-04:00

Anyone out there participating in NaNoWriMo? You spend all of November writing a novel and if you hit 50,000 words then you get to, ah, say you "won." I tried it in 2006 and wrote one page, lol. I am hoping for better luck this year. :o)

I used to be a die-hard writer. I still have a plethora of books I wrote, starting in third grade... all the way up through college (and, I can say, I have ALWAYS written about dogs. Even in college, when all the cool and hip students were writing about relationships, love, deep existential thoughts- Nerdy Jen was still writing dog stories lol). One of my minors in college was actually Creative Writing. But the past 10 years since I graduated... plop. Nothing. Nope. This is going to get me back in the swing of things.

One of the Main Characters in the story is, of course, a greyhound. And art figures prominently too. I'll post more about my plot when I get it fleshed out. I spent most of my lunch hour at the college library (I work at a college) doing research for my plot. Ah, to be studying in a college library again... I miss being young (*sniff*).

And speaking of Writing...

OMG, I'm trying to re-write my artist's statement and it is kicking my butt. Many people who create (whether fine art, photography, crafting, etc) write a sort of "mission statement" about their work. This is posted on their website and/or exhibits and it's a great way to see inside the artist's mind. I love reading artist statements- why does a person paint what they do? What makes them sculpt a certain way, or fashion something the way they do? Really neat. My current statement incorporates a lot of good stuff, but it's gangly and awkward. I'm not sure it conveys everything I want. LuAnn Udell's blog has a lot of good articles on writing a statement, but even with all the help it's still hard to talk about yourself and your art. What it means. Man, I can talk your ear off about dogs, dog training, greyhounds, my greyhounds' diarrhea, my greyhounds eating each others vomit, etc etc... but my ART??? Hard.

Jen

Beautiful Lucy

2009-10-21T20:28:00.001-04:00

Lucy keeps me company while working in the studio.

Fast Jack!

2009-10-21T20:15:00.002-04:00

Jack has now visited my parents' home a few times- however, it was just this weekend that he discovered the 1/2 acre fenced yard is a great area to stretch out and RUN. Not just gallop around with a ball in your mouth, but full out GO. My camera has been really crummy lately so although I took a million pics, only a few came out.

Jack was sprinting so fast around the yard that I actually worried he might hurt himself! Love his zoomy butt in this pic:

And I love this one of Amos, who did his best to keep up. He ran on the inside of Jack's imaginary "track" and frequently cut across the middle to gain ground lol.

Clifford and his Boyfriend

2009-10-21T19:52:00.002-04:00

Visited my parents this past weekend- of course that means Amos gets to visit with his BFF Clifford. *kisses*

Open for Business!

2009-10-19T13:03:00.004-04:00

I finally re-opened my Etsy Store, woot! Included are a few of the pieces I made for the Greyhounds In Art show this year- the Artist's Proofs of each piece were matted and framed for the show, and these are editioned pieces being sold unmatted/unframed ("Escape by a Hare" still needs to go up, but I need to print more first!). Hope you enjoy. :o)

Things have been a bit crazy this week following Dewey. First of all, I'm building a new printing press (with my Dad's help) that was designed by Charles Morgan of Mossworks Studio. The hounds and I have been doing our best to get out, hike, and see the fall foliage before the trees become naked. I visited my college bud Carol in Ithaca, and then had a greyhound playdate with friend Renee, her hubby, and their hounds. And last but definitely not least (especially in terms of mental energy, lol), I've been re-designing my website.

MANY many thanks to all of you who sent happy thoughts into the atmosphere for my boy Cliff. After playing phone tag with his vet for the past, oh, 7 days, I finally got a hold of her this morning. I tried to focus and be as clear-headed as I could when talking to her (*don't you dare have an anxiety attack while on the phone, Jennifer!* lol). She didn't mention cancer at all, only saying that Cliff's panel was fine, normal liver and kidney values, but that his white blood cell counts and platelets were low. Not extraordinarily low, but a drop. I asked if it could be his pink canine tooth causing the WBC drop (perhaps a pulpitis infection), and she said that was possible and we might try a low dose of antibiotics. Cliff's immediate "problem" though is that his new NSAID pill for arthritis, Deramaxx, is causing him to have diarrhea. Before we get Cliff on antibiotics we want to clear that up first. Plan of action is dropping the Deramaxx (which I already did- stopped Saturday) and going to a bland diet for the next week. I'll slowly re-introduce the Deramaxx.

Because Cliff has lost 4 lbs., and I've been trying to fatten him up with anything and everything I can shovel into his mouth, I'm wondering if the diarrhea is from treats instead of the Deramaxx. I guess we'll see with the Bland Diet Experiment. Chicken and rice? He's going to love it lol! Much more fun than kibble.

Anyway, this whole conversation made me wonder about the LAST conversation I had with the vet, while I was getting ready to leave for Dewey. Why did she even mention cancer and scare me? Was I pushing her for "worst case scenarios" which is why she said it (which is totally possible)? Did I over-react and blow some little tidbit she said totally out of proportion (again, knowing myself that is totally possible)? Did she say other things but when I heard "cancer" I totally zoned and that's all I remembered afterwards? Or did she not say anything today because it STILL might be cancer but she doesn't want to worry me? Is she hiding something? Am I losing my marbles? Wait, don't answer that.

I have a bunch of great pics from this weekend that I'm going to try to get posted tonight- including the first stages of my new press! But for now lunch break at work is over and I need to get back to my mailing.

Jen

Hitting the "Jack-Pot" so to speak

2009-10-16T13:10:00.009-04:00

That is probably the corniest pun in the world, but whatever. I have been very, very lucky. I found PUPPY PICTURES OF JACK!

I was never that lucky with Lucy or Clifford.

Adopting a greyhound is a wonderful experience. You are presented with a dog that you fall head over heels with. You get his/her NGA (National Greyhound Association) racing papers, the bertillion (the official paper that lists your dog's color, and any individual markings). Sometimes, if you are lucky, you get a read-out of your dog's last 10 races, including how they placed and comments about their running from the track. You can go online to Greyhound Data, an international racing database, and find your dog's pedigree and find their siblings. You can look up the siblings and see if they are still racing, up for adoption, or already placed in a group. Basically you can go ga-ga doing pedigree research, sibling searches, etc etc., especially if you pretend you are an amateur sleuth and are willing to do the digging.

When I took Jack in as a foster, I found his racing kennel's website and since then have been corresponding with his former owner. Not only that, I got in touch with the kennel where he was whelped and trained annnnnddd..... got puppy pictures!!!!

This is the Jackpot of Greyhound sleuthing... getting puppy pictures of your dog. I know, I know... lame. But it's true. Other Greyhound people can attest.

So... without further ado....

Jack's puppy photos!!!

Jack's litter as newborns. There were 3 boys in the litter (Jackhammer, Jet, Jumpin Johnny) and 3 girls (Jitterbug, Jenga and Jupiter):

As young'uns in their pen. Squeeeeee!!!

These are the 3 boys from the litter- Jackhammer, Jet, Jumpin Johnny. Maybe 4-5 months of age?? I'm assuming Johnny, who was registered as the darkest of the litter (black brindle) is on the left. Jack is the one in the middle with the huge smile on his face-- I could tell it was him the minute I saw the picture!

I know, I know-- utter cuteness! I could just plant a big ol' smooch right on all those kissers!

Greyhounds Reach the Beach 2009 (in a Nutshell)

2009-10-13T12:33:00.030-04:00

Well, another Greyhounds Reach the Beach event has come and gone. We are back from hot, sunny Delaware and our hotel 30 feet from the ocean, back to crisp, fall Upstate N.Y. This post will be a little recap. We'll categorize it by the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Bad:

Thursday AM: Getting ready to leave. I have elected to bring Jack-it will probably be my last year at Dewey and he's young enough to walk all over the place. We can walk Dewey, walk to Rehoboth, walk to Silver Lake, walk miles on the beach, walk Cape Henlopen State Park. Lucy and Clifford have arrangements to stay with my parents on a mini vacation. Leaving my best buds makes me feel really guilty but I'm afraid they won't be able to get up the stairs to the second floor hotel room (and there are no elevators) which would really aggravate their arthritis. And I'm worried about all the walking hurting their joints even more. And I'm feeling bad bringing Jack- he's my new dog and I LIKE him a lot but I don't LOVE him yet. I don't fall in love easily- I'm going on a trip with a virtual canine stranger. And my friends Bridget and Trace won't be there, and I love them to pieces and they've shared Dewey with me since 2004. And I'm starting to feel really down in the dumps about the whole dang trip.

Oh yes, you can admit he's practically perfect.

THEN my vet calls as I'm finished packing up the car. Clifford's blood test looks really "great" but there are three values really off. She thinks it could possibly be Bone Marrow Cancer. I get off the phone and spend some time breathing deeply, trying to contain myself before I implode across the ceiling. The Big C? My first thought is, How can blood look "great" but then their be a chance of Cancer? Why would she say those 2 things in the same sentence? Isn't Bone Cancer the most painful and worst cancer? Does that explain Cliff's significant weight loss recently, and his limping?? My second thought is, Shit, there's no way I can go to Dewey now and if I have to euthanize my beautiful Clifford, then I'm going to kill myself. I can't live without him, I can't live without Lucy, and I'm going to have to OD on all those prescription sleeping pills and barbituates I've been squirreling away in my medicine cabinet, quietly piling up, for the past several years. Oh F*ck, my dog is going to die!

And then in the midst of my little breakdown, Mom calls to see if I've left for Delaware yet. I repeat what the vet just told me on the phone and she tells me that two of the values are white blood cell related, it's probably just an infection, etc etc., the vet is just giving worst-case scenario, etc etc. I can tell she's desperate to talk me off the roof and get me the hell out of the house so I don't go into complete breakdown mode. "It's just an infection! It's probably just an infection! White blood cells mean infection!" she says repeatedly. I elect to believe Mom over the vet because it makes me feel better and even though I'm an adult, I still have that nagging mantra running through the far reaches of my brain that "parents are always right." Parents are ALWAYS right. Vets can be wrong, but parents aren't. And Mom works for a doctor, so she knows medical stuff. Mom promises Lucy and Clifford will get special attention and have a wonderful vacation in the country and Dewey is ONLY 4 days, so I should go, have fun, and bond with Jack.

Anxiety attack averted (for now), I can go on vacation.

The Ugly:

(Whoops. Well, they tried.)

Thursday PM: Arrive in Delaware! Here comes Country Bumpkin Jennifer and her clueless teenage greyhound Jackhammer, all excited to see her expensive hotel digs after an excruciating 8-hour drive. She has never stayed in a hotel so expensive ($110 a night!! Holy cow!) and is excited to see the lap of luxury. She walks into her hotel room and frowns with dismay. Everything is in place- 2 big beds, a TV, a bathroom, a fridge- but everything is REALLY shabby. Jen has stayed in a converted flophouse off the Bowery in Southern Manhattan that roughly compared to this room. It looks old, dingy, and well-used. Jennifer calls her Mom to check in on Lucy and Clifford, and her Mom says she isn't paying for a luxurious hotel room, she's paying to stay 30 feet from the beach. Jen agrees reluctantly but will be disappointed over the room for the rest of the trip.

Jack thinks the room blows, too.

Saturday PM: The TV breaks. Jen pushed the "Power" button on the TV and it slips inside the casing and disappears. And the remote control hasn't worked since she arrived so NO TV. Jen begins to panic because 48 Hours Mystery is on at 10 o'clock and she needs her paranoia fix for the weekend. If 48 Hours Mystery is a bust then she watches Lock-Up on MSNBC, where you get to go inside American prisons and hear about how the prisoners get tazered and throw feces and urine at each other. Missing these important shows would be a horrible turn of events. Eventually, after several trips to the front office, Jen gets new batteries for her remote control so at least she can power the TV that way, and it works, but only after maintence people come and take apart the power button area on the TV for her. Phew.

Sunday PM: Jen and Jack go back to the hotel after a long day of beach-walking, shell-collecting, dolphin- and jelly fish- watching, and exploring, only to find their room reaking of cigarettes, which really upsets Jen's sensibilities. The bathroom is especially stinky. The housekeepers never came that day so they wouldn't have smoked in there. Jen then discovers a hole from the bathroom closet (which has no door), inside the wall and INTO the next hotel room, where 2 ladies are sitting and smoking. Jen is taken aback and tapes a newspaper over the gaping hole and tries to turn the room's AC unit on to cool it down and extinuish the smell. Unfortunately the AC won't start. Jen and Jack go downstairs and find nobody in the front office, with a sign attached to the door saying the hotel closed that morning for the season. No one is around anymore until next summer, and all the ammenities are turned off. WTF? Jen is leaving the next day so in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter, but STILL. How wierd. The hotel is still full of people. Why would management close up and leave when guests were still there? And what if one of the women next door had crawled through the hole into her hotel room at night and butchered her and Jack? With no Front Desk Management there, nobody would find her dead carcass for weeks! After many scenarios run through Jen's head, she finally comforts herself with the fact that she could probably out-fight the women next door because they don't seem very agile. Plus, she has a dog with her and that always counts for something, even if it's a hound.

The Good:

This part is best shown in pictures. :o)

We saw such beautiful skies... and Jack got to see the ocean for the first (?) time.

On Friday and then again on Sunday, we watched pods of dolphins just off shore, swimming leisurely south.

Of course it was a greyhound event, and we met dozens and dozens of other greyhounds on our travels around Dewey and Rehoboth beaches.

Brindle sandwich

Vendors around the villages and down the boardwalk had out bowls of water and biscuits for the dogs...much to Jack's delight!

Jack got a winter coat to prepare him for upstate NY winters! And he and Clifford got Heart Throbs, which are THE best durable stuffed animal I've ever found (and really cute to boot)...

...And we bought Lucy and Clifford great big dog-biscuit lollipops which they really enjoyed when we got home! Yum!

We loved walking the beach and saw dozens of jellyfish, several species...quite amazing creatures.

...and we spent hours combing for shells and smooth ocean rocks.

And last but not least!!...

The art show was successful. I sold three of my six pieces, and my auction print went for a higher price than I valued it at (all benefits going to the greyhound health program at OSU!). It wasn't a total sellout like last year, but considering the economy and the fact that there seemed less greyhound folks at the beach than last year, I'm really pleased. The folks who bought my work seemed so pleased with it, and that made ME happy. And those who stopped by to ask about Lucy and Clifford, and say nice things about linocuts, and support myself and the other artists in the show- THANK YOU!

And I'll leave you with one last picture... the beauty of coastal Delaware.

We ended up having a pretty swell time. Now it is back to "real life"- my 9-5 job, investigating Cliff's blood values, dealing with the squirrels that chewed a new hole into my house while I was gone and made a nest in my kitchen ceiling. We have a really tall lawn to mow, a house to clean, a really sandy car to clean out, a grandpa who was just put into hospice. We will have new hiking adventures, new projects around the house, and new art to make! It will be interesting to see what the rest of autumn brings.

Jen

Finished Linocuts for the Show

2009-10-05T12:46:00.004-04:00

Scanner is working today, yay! So instead of spending my lunch hour doing necessary personal stuff (aka paying my bills) I am uploading my finished artwork for this week's show. We are leaving for Delaware bright and early Thursday!

I am personally very happy with the way my pieces turned out- mostly because this year they will look COHESIVE. The past 2 years I've been invited to do the show, I've kind of been all over the place... some oil pastels, some color woodcuts, some 1-color woodcuts, etc etc. You'd look at my exhibit and think that three different people worked on it!

All of the Artist's Proofs are going down to Dewey, and later I will put the editions on Etsy (these are all un-numbered editions).

So without further adue (ado? adeui?)....

This is my donation piece, which will be part of a silent auction to raise money for the Greyhound Health and Wellness program at Ohio State University's Department of Veterinary Medicine:

"Escape by a Hare", 11 x 14 Linocut on blue Nepali Lokta paper

It's a little more illustrationy/caricaturey than I usually do, but Lucy is 13 and dreaming about chasing a rabbit, and things are never very realistic in your dreams. :)

"Untitled", 8 x 10 linocut on off-white Mulberry paper (Japanese)

I am still trying to think of a title for this piece!!! It is my favorite linocut of the show, maybe the favorite linocut I've ever done... so I want the title to be special. I have 48 more hours to come up with something (gulp) before I absolutely HAVE to frame and pack it. Think, brain, think!

"Stripes", 8 x 10 linocut on pale blue Nepali Lokta paper

This is my second favorite image, although I had a hard time working on the, uh, how to say this delicately- weiner. Greyhound, being smooth coated, have pretty prominent genitalia. I mean, you see it ALL- the nipples, the weiner, the coochie, it all hangs out there- and I'm kind of a prude (I have to admit, I've seen a few intact male show greyhounds and I was so embarrassed for them I almost felt bad). I struggled whether to leave Cliff's weiner in or out. In the end, lucky Clifford got to keep it in this piece lol. Next time he might not be so lucky! :)

"Snug", 8 x 10 linocut on mustard Nepali Lokta paper

My only brindle in the show! The model for this linocut was my friend Renee's beautiful girl Mercedes. After a playdate one Saturday she had nestled into a dog bed, forming the perfect little greyhound nugget.

"Far Afield", 8 x 10 linocut on green Nepali Lokta paper

I hike with my dogs a lot (as readers of this blog know!) which was the inspiration for this piece.
I thought the pale olivey-green paper worked perfectly with it!

"Contemplation", linocut on green Nepali Lokta paper

This is a small rectangular linocut and I'm still wondering how I'm going to cut a mat for something so odd-shaped. It won't fit a standard frame. I have a matt cutter, but I'm really bad at it... hmm.

"Birthday Girl", 8 x 10 linocut on Japanese Kitakata paper

Okay, I am realizing my show is kind of top-heavy with black greyhounds lol. I was actually working on this lincut on Lucy's birthday, thus the title of the piece, "Birthday Girl." It took two tries to get this... carving a graying/aging face so up-close is a bit difficult! And the Kitakata paper was hard to work with too- drank up a lot of ink. It's very delicate and lacy, though, which is nice (not as lacy as Kozo paper, though. Now THAT is lacy).

Well, that is it. Most are matted and framed, ready to be packed up and driven down to Delaware. I hope to blog again before I leave but if I don't, I'm bringing my computer. Will send news from the oceanside! :o)

Jen

"Contemplation"- a new linocut

2009-10-04T17:59:00.003-04:00

A little linocut I was working on for the Greyhounds in Art Show coming up. I can't believe I'm leaving for Delaware in four days already!!!

Top photo shows the first block I attempted (and goofed up- I carved away from underneath the head too much!!) and the second, final block that came out the way I wanted (the bottom block). I used battleship gray linoleum and cut away all the negative space around the greyhound with scissors, lol. I am really finding I love battleship, much more than MDF or Golden Cut linoleum. When I initially started up printmaking in 2005 I started with an old piece of Battleship that was SO hard to cut- I didn't realize that linoleum hardens with age and therefore it's important to get your blocks from a reputable source- this turned me off. But I'm SO pleased with the battleship I got from Dick Blick a few months ago- when the battleship is "in its prime" it is SO nice to cut!

These linocuts are all being printed by hand instead of running them through my press. This means I ink the block, lay a piece of paper on top, and rub the back of the paper with a wooden spoon. This transfers the image to the paper. It's more labor-intensive than using the press and more frustrating too but I wanted to give it a try.

In the photo below, I'm using spring green Lokta paper from Nepal. I LOVE this stuff! I have been experimenting with several types of paper for this show: Kitakata (Japan), Mulberry (Japan), and Lokta (Nepal)- I like the Lokta best, Kitakata least. Mulberry rides comfortably in the middle lol.

Hopefully I'll be able to scan the finished print soon... the scanner at work is still on the fritz!

Jen

Green Lakes Hike

2009-10-04T17:47:00.003-04:00

I meant to post these photos earlier in the week. Oops! Jack, Cliffie and I hiked at Green Lakes state park on... Saturday, I think? Last Saturday? It was the perfect day for a hike, and the park is (of course) beautiful. The lakes are meromictic, which means something like the lake's water doesn't mix, and the layers of water are different masses/densities/salinities. This makes the water a beautiful turquoise blue, like you see in the tropics.

Lucy Endorses Adoption

2009-09-28T20:15:00.002-04:00

Those of you who have had your dogs bit/mauled/attacked by Lucy (which includes almost all of you, I'm sure) will be shocked to see this photo of The Queen of Mean. Yes, that's Lucy, snuggling up with Jack. And no, the photo wasn't Photoshopped! I have been hemming and hawing about adopting Jack, but he's fit in SO well. Heck, Lucy even likes him!! He and Cliff are adjusting and things only get "tense" when running outside.

I think we will be filling out adoption papers soon.

Jen

Despite the Rain...

2009-09-28T12:39:00.003-04:00

Well, despite the rain on Sunday, we ended up having a great weekend. On Saturday, Lucy accompanied me on errands and then had a spa treatment (massage, grooming with the hound glove-which she loves- and then some lavendar calming agent massaged into her fur. Mmm). Clifford, Jack and I went hiking at Green Lakes State Park and then visited Bridget. We also went to the pet supply store for Dick Van Patten Natural Balance, and Clifford almost ate an $800 parrot. Ugh. Sunday we napped and then I carved some blocks, printed and finished my exhibit for the upcoming Greyhounds in Art show! Woot. Now comes the matting and framing- the part I hate. :oP

Pics to come when I get home- currently on lunch break at the office.

In other news:

I am building a new printing press. Well, I'm in the materials-gathering stage right now, but plan to commence building right after Dewey. Charles Morgan was kind enough to send me new, updated plans on building a Bottle Jack press- something that even a low-tech person like me can accomplish- and I'm very excited.
I was reading Luann Udell's art blog the other day and she had a post about banners- you know, the identifying headers at the top of your blog, website, Etsy store- how important they are for your art business. It again made me realize that I need to update my website and give that, my blog, and my Etsy store a fresh look. I've been pondering this for awhile now but it just kind of gives me momentum to DO IT.
I had another few bullet points but cannot remember them. Sigh.

Well... anyway... stay tuned for photos.

Jen

Cheap Entertainment

2009-09-23T18:44:00.001-04:00

Clifford and Jack are apparently very amused with my horrid Darth Vader impression. Lucy-not so much lol.

Hike at Chimney Bluffs State Park

2009-09-21T19:36:00.003-04:00

We really wanted to take advantage of the last weekend of summer! It was such a beautiful, bright-blue sky Sunday- I packed up Clifford and Jack and headed northwest to Wayne County and Chimney Bluffs State Park even though we'd already been hiking on Saturday. I'd never been to this park before and although my hiking book gave it "4 boots" out of 4 for difficulty, and my neighbor said it wasn't hike-able with dogs, I decided to go anyway. Even if it was just to see the spires and not do a lot of hiking. I figured if it was too rugged (especially for Cliff) we'd just take some pics of the coast and then find another park nearby that was tamer.

No fears- the hiking was fabulous (very do-able for dogs- in fact we saw quite a few canine visitors!) and all three of us enjoyed ourselves.

According to my book Take a Hike: Family Walks in NY's Finger Lakes Region by Rich and Sue Freeman*, "Chimney Bluffs is a glacial drumlin cut to sharp spires, 150-feet high, by wind and wave action. Drumlins are long, narrow rounded hills of sediment formed when glaciers scoured the countryside. The last glacier to cover this are melted 12,000 years ago... the drumlin field of which Chimney Bluffs is a part, is one of the most extensive in the world, with over 10,000 drumlins."

I can't believe I've lived in this area most of my life and have never been to this spectacular place!!! It was perfect for hiking and wasn't that difficult at all. We did a 3 mile circuit which led along the bluffs of Lake Ontario, giving us spectacular views of the chimney spires. The trail along the cliff's edge was absolutely amazing. There were a few downed trees that we had to hop over (or crawl under) which made me a bit nervous for Cliff- he has a weak back end- but he was a champ. Cliff on the cliff, lol:

More of the chimney spires, with Lake Ontario in the background:

Clifford and Jack along the Cliff Trail:

Another view of the bluffs:

More spires:

Jack dips in Lake Ontario for the first time!

Clifford and Jack find the BIGGEST fish I have ever seen in my life. It must have become stranded on the shore and died? Seriously, it was huge.

Cliff on the shore: A tired, happy boy! :o)

We will definitely go back to this park again. If you live in the area (or are passing through) I HIGHLY recommend it!! Probably the most stunning park (and hike) I've been to so far.

Jen

*This is a fabulous book-two thumbs up-if you live in Central NY and love to hike, you need this book!!

Hike at Esker Brook

2009-09-21T19:24:00.001-04:00

Hiking with my Aunt Tina and cousin Melanie at Esker Brook (Montezuma Wildlife Refuge) on Saturday. I was so busy chatting that I didn't get many pictures!

Lucy Soaking up the Last rays of Summer

2009-09-21T19:19:00.002-04:00

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine
Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind.
-Seals & Croft